Results From MSPB-Funded Research Projects
I am posting recently submitted Annual and Final Reports from 2014-2015 MSPB-funded projects on this website. Click here to see recent research results that can be used to improve your operation.
Some of the more notable findings follow.
Results from two studies (40-2014 and 56-2014) show the importance of using soil moisture sensors rather than soybean growth stage to determine when irrigation of soybeans should be initiated. This important finding can be adopted to reduce the amount of irrigation water that is applied to soybeans, thus conserving water and lowering costs associated with irrigation.
Results from Project No. 17-2014 lead to the conclusion that infestation by adult three-cornered alfalfa hopper (TCAH) during soybean reproductive growth has no impact on yield and thus does not cause economic damage during these stages. Therefore, there is no justification for having a threshold for TCAH treatment during soybean reproductive stages.
Guidelines to be used to avoid far-field drift following the application of agricultural pesticides in the Midsouth have been developed/updated from the work conducted for Project No. 47-2014. These results are being used to develop a web-based system that can be accessed by agricultural pilots and farm managers.
In a study (01-2014) to refine guidelines for management of lepidopteran insect pests in soybeans, reproductive stages beyond which fruit loss greater than 50% reduced yield were determined in determinate and indeterminate varieties. Results also showed that soybeans can compensate for ≤50% fruit loss occurring up to about stage R5 by increasing both seed production and seed weight.
Results from project 58-2014 reinforce the importance of early planting as a management tool to avoid late-season insect defoliation. Specifically, soybean planted after about May 8 were more subject to damage by bean leaf beetle, and soybean planted after about May 30 were more vulnerable to soybean looper and stink bug damage. Also, the potential benefit from growing Bt soybean appears to fall in the last 30% of the planting window in Mississippi.
In another vane not related to the above, the Plant Management Network has posted a webinar in its Focus on Soybean series entitled “Reducing Nutrient Loss From Farmland” presented by Dr. Fabián Fernández of the University of Minnesota. Even though the presentation is geared toward midwestern US cropping systems, much of the data and recommendations also apply to the Midsouth. Especially take note of the Delta portion in the Stream Flux chart, and the importance of not applying N fertilizer to soybean in a corn-soybean rotation system.
Composed by Larry G. Heatherly, May 2015, larryheatherly@bellsouth.net