About this Session

Soybean Yield Response To Nitrogen And Sulfur Fertilization:  Findings From A National Collaboration

Presented by: Dr. Jeremy Ross, Extension Agronomist-Soybean Professor, University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture

Research on the effect of nitrogen and sulfur fertilization on seed yield of soybean has been done for years. However, soybean yield response to nitrogen and sulfur fertilizer applications remains inconsistent. This lack of consistent results could be due to the lack of standardized plot designs and a lack of understanding of the plant nutrition processes affecting grain yield. Twenty-six field trials in twelve states across the US tested five fertilization strategies that combined nitrogen and sulfur at different rates and timings. The objective of this study was to examine soybean seed yield response to nitrogen and sulfur across different environments and assess seed yield, plant N status, and the contribution of nitrogen fixation and soil nitrogen have on crop nutrition. For most locations, nitrogen and sulfur fertilization did not significantly increase soybean grain yield. Due to the high uncertainty in treatment response in the nitrogen treatments, nitrogen fertilization is unlikely to increase soybean grain yield.

The Importance Of On-Farm Research To Obtain High Yields

Presented by: Layne Miles, Arkansas Farmer, Double M Farms

You can use the research of others as a guide, but the true measure of what will work on your farm can be obtained only by your own on–farm research, which provides the best results in your soils, your fertility, your environment. “What works in Iowa, may not work in Arkansas”’ he says. Layne has been doing this type of research for about seven years, and his father, Matt, has used the same strategy for years before that. This year our test was “how early is too early”. We found a dry window and planted our first field of bean on February 18th. Not as something we thought we would really “make a crop in” but as a test to see what the limits of planting early.
The Miles farm recently grew to 10,000 acres when Layne and his dad, Matt, combined their acreage. On 1,500 acres they raise zero–grade rice, and the balance of the acreage. 3500 acres each is in corn and soybeans with 1,500 acres in Cotton. Miles received his bachelor’s degree in plant and soil science from the University of Arkansas in Monticello in 2016. He grew up on the family farm and is now farming for his 30th year.