Is soybean yield limited by nitrogen supply?

Menza, Nicolás Cafaro La; Monzón, Juan Pablo; Specht, James E.; Grassini, Patricio

doi:10.1016/j.fcr.2017.08.009

Cited by 124 publications

(82 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…This result is somewhat different from Cafaro et al (2017) who observed a seed yield benefit due to N application in environments with yield potential greater than 2,500 kg ha −1…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 55%

Soybean response to nitrogen application across the United States: A synthesis-analysis

Mourtzinis

Kaur

Orlowski

et al. 2018

Field Crops Research

101

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A B S T R A C TThe effects of supplemental nitrogen (N) on soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] seed yield have been the focus of much research over the past four decades. However, most experiments were region-specific and focused on the effect of a single N-related management choice, thus resulting in a limited inference space. Here, we composited data from individual experiments conducted across the US that examined the effect of N fertilization on soybean yield. The combined database included 207 environments (experiment × year combinations) for a total of 5991 N-treated soybean yields. We used hierarchical modeling and conditional inference tree analysis on the combined dataset to establish the relationship and contribution of several N management choices on soybean yield. The N treatment variables were: N-application (single or split), N-method (soil incorporated, foliar, etc.), Ntiming (pre-plant, at a reproductive stage, etc.), and N-rate (from a 0 N control to as much as 560 kg ha). Of the total yield variability, 68% was associated with the effect of environment, whereas only a small fraction of that variability (< 1%) was attributable to each N variable. Averaged over all experiments, a single N application and the split N application were 60 and 110 kg ha −1 greater yielding than the zero N control treatment, respectively. A split N application with more than one method (e.g., soil incorporated and foliar) resulted in 120 kg ha −1 greater yield than zero N plots. Split N application between planting and reproductive stages (Rn) resulted in greater yield than zero N and single application during a Rn; however, the effect was not significantly different than N application at other growth stages. Increasing the N rate increased the environment average soybean yield; however, 93% of the environment-specific N-rate responses were not significant which suggested a minimal effect of N across the examined region. A large yield variability was observed among environments E-mail address: mourtzinis@wisc.edu (S. Mourtzinis).Abbreviations: BNF, biological nitrogen fixation; C, check (no nitrogen was applied); MM, major management practices; N, nitrogen; N-rate, nitrogen rate; N-application, number of nitrogen applications; N-method, method of nitrogen application; N-timing, timing of nitrogen application (growth stage/s); P, all nitrogen was applied at planting only; PR, split nitrogen application at planting and reproductive growth stages; pP, all nitrogen was applied at pre-planting only; Rn, reproductive growth stage; R, all nitrogen was applied at a reproductive growth stage only; RR, split nitrogen application at two reproductive growth stages; V, all nitrogen was applied at a vegetative growth stage only; Vn, vegetative growth stage MARKwithin the same N rates, which was attributed to growing environment differences (e.g., in-season weather conditions, soil type etc.) and non-N related management (e.g., irrigation). Conditional inference tree analysis identified N-timing and N-rate to be conditional to irriga...

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“…This result is somewhat different from Cafaro et al (2017) who observed a seed yield benefit due to N application in environments with yield potential greater than 2,500 kg ha −1…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 55%

Soybean response to nitrogen application across the United States: A synthesis-analysis

Mourtzinis

Kaur

Orlowski

et al. 2018

Field Crops Research

101

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“…N is an essential element for soybean growth [19,61]. Effective N fixation and utilization can promote crop growth and increase yield [20,62]. Zapata et al [63] suggested that maximum N fixation occurs during R3 and R5 stages of soybean development.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Drought Stress at Reproductive Stages on Growth and Nitrogen Metabolism in Soybean

Zhao

Chen

et al. 2020

Agronomy

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This study aims to determine variability among soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) cultivars under drought conditions and how nitrogen metabolites, metabolism-related enzymes, and gene expression vary during soybean growth. Three soybean cultivars, Shennong17 (CV.SN17), Shennong8 (CV.SN8), and Shennong12 (CV.SN12), were grown in pot culture and subjected to drought stress at reproductive stages for 45 days. The results showed that long-term drought stress decreased biomass allocation to reproductive organs, weakened antioxidant capacity, and reduced seed weight, effects that were less pronounced in CV.SN12 compared with those in CV.SN8 and CV.SN17. Drought stress decreased the concentrations of nitrogen and soluble protein but increased nitrate concentration in leaves. This was related to the significantly reduction of nitrogen metabolism efficiency, including decreased activities of nitrogen metabolism enzymes, and downregulated expression of GmNR, GmNiR, GmGS, and GmGOGAT. Drought stress increased the concentrations of free amino acid, proline, and soluble sugar in leaves to enhance the osmotic adjustment ability. Furthermore, soybean seed weight showed significantly correlation (p < 0.05) with nitrogen-metabolism-related parameters. Based on the performance of growth, nitrogen metabolism, and yield attributes, CV.SN12 showed the highest tolerance to drought, followed by CV.SN8 and CV.SN17. In addition, these nitrogen-metabolism-related parameters could be used in soybeans to select for drought tolerance.

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“…Soybean seed requires large amounts of N per unit of C relative to other crops (Sinclair and de Wit, 1975), and superior N demand is accompanied by superior P and K requirements (Bender et al, 2015; Gaspar et al, 2017; Yang et al, 2017). Recently, Cafaro La Menza et al (2017), reporting fertilizer N response in soybeans grown in high‐yielding environments (>6 Mg ha −1 ), found that indigenous N supply was insufficient to fulfill N requirement with lower N seed when no N was applied. Similar findings were also reported by Tamagno and Ciampitti (2017) but in lower‐yield environments (average 3.5 Mg ha −1 ), with superior soybean yield to N fertilization explained by longer duration of the seed‐filling period, even when biological N fixation was partially inhibited.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Neither of the abovementioned studies characterized historical trends of nutrient uptake nor nutrient stoichiometry. Furthermore, published studies on soybean plant nutrition have largely focused on individual nutrients, mostly on N (Fabre and Planchon, 2000;Salvagiotti et al, 2008Salvagiotti et al, , 2009Jin et al, 2011;Rotundo et al, 2014;Van Roekel and Purcell, 2014;Divito et al, 2016;Cafaro La Menza et al, 2017), less on P (Pan et al, 2008;Wang et al, 2009Wang et al, , 2010van de Wiel et al, 2016), and a few on K (Pettigrew, 2008;Parvej et al, 2015). Nutrient stoichiometry is useful to understand crop nutrient status, and nutrient ratios can be useful to comprehend nutrient supplies (Mo et al, 2015).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Shifts in Soybean Yield, Nutrient Uptake, and Nutrient Stoichiometry: A Historical Synthesis‐Analysis

2018

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Few studies have investigated changes over time in nutrient uptake and yield, in addition to the study of nutrient stoichiometry as a metric of nutrient limitations in soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.]. A comprehensive synthesis‐analysis was performed by compiling a global historical soybean database of yield, total biomass, and nutrient (N, P, and K) content and concentration in studies published from 1922 to 2015. This period was divided in three eras based on genetically modified soybean events: Era I (1922–1996), Era II (1997–2006), and Era III (2007–2015). The main findings of this review are: (i) seed yield improved from 1.3 Mg ha−1 in the 1930s to 3.2 Mg ha−1 in the 2010s; (ii) yield increase was primarily driven by increase in biomass rather than harvest index (HI); (iii) both N and P HIs increased over time; (iv) seed nutrient concentration remained stable for N and declined for both P (18%) and K (13%); (v) stover nutrient concentration remained stable for N, diminished for P, and increased for K; (vi) nutrient ratios portray different trends for N/P (Era I and III > II), N/K (Era I > II and III), and K/P (Era II and III > I); (vii) yield per unit of nutrient uptake (internal efficiency) increased for N (33%) and P (44%) and decreased for K (11%); and (viii) variations in nutrient internal efficiency were primarily explained by increase in nutrient HI for N and K, but equally explained by both HI for P and seed P concentration. These findings have implications for soybean production and integrated nutrient management to improve yield, nutrient use efficiency, and seed nutrient composition.

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Is soybean yield limited by nitrogen supply?

Cited by 124 publications

References 28 publications

Soybean response to nitrogen application across the United States: A synthesis-analysis

Soybean response to nitrogen application across the United States: A synthesis-analysis

Effect of Drought Stress at Reproductive Stages on Growth and Nitrogen Metabolism in Soybean

Shifts in Soybean Yield, Nutrient Uptake, and Nutrient Stoichiometry: A Historical Synthesis‐Analysis

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