Iron Deficiency in Soil Threatens Soybean Production

An expansion of soybean production into areas where soybean has seldom, if ever, been grown can be problematic for some farmers. Soils having high pH values and large amounts of calcium and/or magnesium carbonate are notoriously iron deficient. Iron deficient soils in the North Central United States are estimated to reduce soybean production by 12.5 million bushels every year.

According to John Wiersma a researcher at the University of Minnesota Northwest Research and Outreach Centre at Crookston, his study, plant height, seed number, and grain yield all decreased linearly in response to increasing nitrogen rates for iron inefficient varieties, whereas these responses in iron efficient and moderately efficient varieties changed little as nitrogen rates increased. Read more...

This blog is written by Martin Little The Global Miller, published and supported by the GFMT Magazine from Perendale Publishers.