Inoculating Soybeans to Try to Increase Yield

Studies will be conducted at Lexington and Princeton and target high yielding environments. The location in Lexington had soybeans reach 92 bushels per acre without irrigation a couple years ago. Studies will be conducted on both full-season soybeans and double-crop soybeans. Full-season soybeans will be seeded to attain a final plant population of 100,000 plants per acre. Double-cop soybeans will be seeded to attain a final plant population of 150,000 plants per acre. The experimental design will be a randomized complete block design with four replications. Plots will be approximately 10 ft wide by 25 ft long. Two plots per treatment will be planted; one plot will be harvested for yield and the other plot will be used to collect tissue samples and evaluate root nodulation at V3, V6, R1 and R6 growth stages. Three plants per row will be harvested to evaluate root nodulation. Tissue samples will be sent to a commercial laboratory to determine nutrient content of the samples.