By David Moseley, Woolam, Brandi C., Padgett, Guy B., Gentimis, Thanos, Parvej, Md Rasel, Lee, Laura E, Reis, Andre, Kongchum, Manoch
LSU AgCenter
The early soybean production system (ESPS) was proposed in the mid-1990s for the Southern United States. This practice consisted of growing varieties with a maturity group of III and IV and a planting date between mid-April to mid-May instead of the traditional recommendation of planting a maturity group V-VII variety between May and June, which was known as a full-season production system. Research indicated that the early soybean production system improves yield and stability, mainly by avoiding heat and drought stress during seed fill and late season disease and insect pressure.