There are some great genetics available with this trait package. Since XtendFlex has been on the market for a good number of years now, the breeders from all the major seed companies have been able to work the best defensive traits into the highest-yielding genetics available.

As a side note: conventional breeding programs are still working behind the scenes, and as soon as any seed breeder finds a good base package, each trait (either XtendFlex or Enlist) gets added to it.

That way when new traits come out, breeders don’t have to start over. They just cross the very best, brand new conventional bean with the new trait and they are off to the races. This way, there is always an upward tick in yield potential.

Yield is what we all think we want, but what we really want is “whole field yields.” That means a high-yielding bean that also has enough of the key defensive traits to be consistent across your field rather than dying off or yielding very poorly in significant parts of your fields.

XtendFlex beans are still being produced in large enough quantities that if there is a market shift back away from Enlist in areas, there will be enough seed available.

That’s good, because if dicamba is once again labeled, there will certainly be farmers that switch back. Oh, and what about Vyconic soybeans? That’s the new trait that has tolerance to HPPDs (like Callisto – a.k.a. mesotrione) plus 2,4-D, dicamba, Roundup, and Liberty. Vyconic is expected to have a limited launch in 2027. It’s not part of the decision-making for this year, so we’ll talk more about it next year.

Even if dicamba products are not labeled, you can still achieve top yields and excellent weed control with XtendFlex.

Start with the “3 Pre’s” that we often talk about (trifluralin or Prowl, Authority or Valor, and metribuzin). Follow up early post with Liberty or Roundup plus a residual herbicide and do it early. Keep the weeds small when spraying all season long, layer residual herbicides, and keep scouting to time future applications appropriately, and you won’t have any issues.

Now the trait with the largest market share in the United States, Enlist soybeans have been a great tool for achieving excellent weed control in soybeans while getting the best yields. We’re seeing more Peking soybean cyst nematode (SCN) resistant beans in the Enlist lineup, which is great. We’re also seeing more stacked phytophthora gene varieties (my favorite is the Rps3a/Rps1C stack). There is now a very broad set of genetics to choose from in the Enlist trait.

Coming up, even more defense is being added to the Enlist lineup in the highest-yielding genetics.

This is a win-win for your farm! We’re also seeing a deep pipeline of future traits being stacked onto this platform with tolerance to HPPDs just a year or two behind the Vyconic soybean trait.

The biggest downside of Enlist beans right now is they can’t tolerate dicamba or Stinger or HPPDs; but to be fair, XtendFlex can’t tolerate 2,4-D or Stinger or HPPDs either, so you just have to be careful with all those herbicides and watch out for carryover (HPPDs and Stinger) or drift/volatility (especially with dicamba).

The other challenge has been working with Enlist One. Don’t get me wrong, Enlist One is a great product. I wish it was labeled to use more than one quart in each application, but that’s not going to change anytime soon. I like mixing a quart of Enlist One with at least 32 ounces of Liberty. My favorite mix is 43 ounces of Liberty with a quart of Enlist One. It’s not cheap, but it really does work if you are spraying timely. Also, if you mix a volunteer corn killer with Enlist One, you will need to significantly increase the rate of the volunteer corn herbicide to get it to work well. You are likely very aware of that if you’ve used Enlist One more than once. Always use the “3 Pre’s” with Enlist Soybeans to start clean and add a residual herbicide with your first post pass, as well.

EITHER TRAIT PACKAGE CAN BE USED TO KEEP YOUR FIELDS CLEAN AND ACHIEVE EXCELLENT YIELDS. THE YIELD COMPARISON BETWEEN THE TRAITS IS A TOSS-UP.