Defense planning is under way across the country. No-tillers are taking aim at the weeds, insects and diseases that could threaten their soybean crops in 2004. And as the threats to soybeans change - aphids have become a bigger problem in the past couple of years, and fast-acting rust disease seems ready to move into the U.S. from South America - the country's pesticide manufacturers are offering some new alternatives on top of proven performers to guard the fields.

In recent years, there has been a push to no-till soybeans earlier every year. Although no-tilling early can help maximize your yield potential, there is also a risk associated with planting into cooler, wetter soil, which is ideal for disease development. In fact, the shift toward earlier planting dates is one factor that has contributed to the increased need for preventative disease control.

Sunlight interception is the name of the game when it comes to producing a good no-till soybean crop, maintains Jim Beuerlein, agronomist at Ohio State University.

After sitting in on a no-till air seeder roundtable session during the 1998 National No-Tillage Conference, Donn Branton was primed for action. What he’d heard convinced him to consider a new way to achieve the precision planting necessary for attaining 100 bushel per acre yields of soft red winter wheat.

When it comes to any recent discovery about soybean diseases, chances are three researchers have found it. These top-notch no-till researchers have done extensive digging and testing on what no-tillers can do to protect their valuable no-till soybeans from the devastating effects of diseases.