Feb 26, 2020
Dry Weather could Impact Late Developing Soybeans in Argentina
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
There were heavy rains last week in parts of northern Argentina with as much as 120 to 280 millimeters (4.8 to 11.2 inches) resulted in localized flooding and the loss of some crops in the provinces of Tucuman and southern Chaco, but the rains only impacted a coupe percent of the total soybean crops in Argentina. On a nationwide basis, the rains only had a minimal impact.
Going forward, both the near term and long term forecasts look dry, so there could be some moisture stress on the later developing crops. Temperatures have been cool, in fact, over the weekend temperatures dropped to the upper 30's in western Buenos Aires province.
The Argentina soybean crop is rated 71% good to excellent, which is 1% better than last week. The soybeans in general are 28% filling pods and 1% mature compared to 0.7% last year and 4.2% for the 5-year average. The early planted soybeans are 41% filling pods and 1.4% mature. The later planted soybeans are 23.5% setting pods and 1.3% filling pods. The soil moisture for the soybeans is rated 97% favorable to optimum, which is 1% better than last week.
Going forward, it is the double crop soybeans that could be the most impacted by dry weather. Approximately about half of the early planted soybeans are already filling pods, so there is probably enough residual soil moisture to finish the crop. Approximately about a quarter of the double crop soybeans are setting pods, so these soybeans will need additional moisture as the crop starts to fill the pods.