Soybean Hoop Method

1. How to do standard counts: NH3 hose works well for determining populations of drilled soybeans. A 127 inch length of this hose fastened together at the two ends with a barb, wooden dowel or duct tape makes a good hoop that can be tossed on the field to determine the population. Each soybean found within the center fo the hoop represents 5000 plants per acre.

2. A 28" diameter hoop, take the plants counted in the hoop times 10,000. Due to the smaller sample size take a few more counts with this size hoop.

Rowed Bean Stand Count Distances
15" 34'-10" is 1/1000th of an acre
19" 26'-6"
30" 17'-5"
38" 13'-9"

3. A real hula-hoop can be used to estimate drilled or broadcasted soybean populations. Randomly throw the hula-hoop in at least five locations in a soybean field and average the results. If you know the inside diameter of the hoop you can estimate the number of plants per acre.