James Adkins, Extension Engineer, adkins@udel.edu
The forecasted multi-day rain event was a bust for most of Delmarva with a relatively small region northwest of Bridgeville receiving over an inch (figure 1). In areas with less than ½” of rain, soybeans will need irrigation on Saturday or before even if you were actively irrigating prior to this week. Continue irrigation at an equivalent rate of 0.15” per day for fully green plants and continue at a 0.1” per day rate as the field yellows until leaves begin dropping. Keep in mind that soybeans will beneficially use approximately 1.5” of water after everything has turned yellow.
Figure 1. Precipitation Totals September 11 – September 18, 2024