By KAREN BINDER
Illinois Correspondent

MOUNT VERNON, Ill. — How to increase soybean yield is a perennial quest for University of Illinois researchers.

They recently explained to farmers attending the UoI’s 2011 Corn and Soybean Classic in southern Illinois that there’s no definitive answer, but they are interested in any techniques farmers are using to boost yields.

Vince Davis, a UoI assistant professor of soybean production systems and extension specialist, studies whether there is a soybean yield barrier or plateau. He presented his research as part of the Classic, which also shared research progress on such topics pest management and farm profitability.

Davis is among the UoI crop sciences faculty, the National Soybean Research Laboratory and the Illinois Soybean Assoc. that have launched the 2010 Illinois Soybean Yield Challenge. The idea is for farmers, companies and students to see how high they can take soybean yields in 2011, a somewhat novel idea considering that most yield studies are on corn.

From 1950-2005 soybean yields in Illinois increased an average of 1.1 percent per year. But from 2003-08 the averages have leveled off. Since 1989, the average Illinois soybean yields have increased at about one-third a bushel per year, Davis reported.

The purpose of the yield challenge is to reveal high-yield practices, encourage new strategies and provide data to researchers who can then further investigate, Davis said.

This is the first year for the challenge. Organizers are hoping to make it an annual event. Teams of at least five people can be composed of growers, agribusiness companies, 4-H or FFA students and students enrolled in community colleges. “We really want teams to work together in this,” Davis said.

Challenge participants will receive free soil testing for nutrients and soybean cyst nematode counts, plus free protein and oil analyses of samples taken from harvested plots. The soybean cyst nematode analysis is also part of the story since the nematode makes the biggest negative impact on soybean yields.
Participants will also receive information about the soybean production strategies and data collected from the challenge. In light of the upcoming challenge, Davis on shared historical information about soybean yields and the university’s high-yield experiments.

Researchers have been looking at appropriate fertility levels, selecting the right variety, good planting and agronomic practices, timing, row spacing, seeding rate, increasing inputs for high yield and pest management. “Variety selection is probably the most important management decision you’ll make,” Davis said.
For more on the UoI’s variety testing program from 13 different field plots in Illinois, visit http://vt.cropsci.illinois.edu

No overall winners will be announced; instead, winners will come from each of the nine districts in Illinois. For a district map, visit www.soyyieldchallenge.com
Prizes will be awarded. Details about the challenge can be found at www.soy yieldchallenge.com or call 309-663-7692. The deadline is April 1.