Chris Bruynis, Extension Agriculture and Natural Resources Agent
Objective: To evaluate the effects of two different inoculants on soybean yields in fields currently in a corn/soybean rotation.
Background |
|
| Cooperator:
County of Site: Nearest Town: Major Soil Type: Drainage: Tillage: Previous Crop: Variety: Soil Test: |
Gary Walter
Wyandot Wharton Blount Surface-No Tile No-Till Corn Callahan 7317 pH 6.5 P 200 lbs/ac K 450 lbs/ac |
| Organic Matter:
Fertilizer: Herbicides: Planting Populations: Planting Date: Harvest Date: |
3.6%
None Canopy 225,000/ac May 17, 1999 October 7, 1999 |
Two inoculum products were tested against no inoculant. These products were Cell-Tech 2000 and a USDA humus-based inoculant of Bradyrhizobium japonicum. All of the plots containing no inoculant were planted first to avoid contamination of the seed. The inoculant was hand mixed in the seed box, and the inoculant plots were planted. The treatments were replicated four times. Each of the 12 plots was 45' x 505' in size. Yield was measured by a weigh wagon provided by Reile Farms, Upper Sandusky, Ohio.
| Treatment | Yield | |
| No Inoculum | 51.22 bu/ac a | |
| USDA Inoculum | 52.81 bu/ac a | |
| Cell-Tech 2000 | 53.05 bu/ac a | |
| lsd(p=0.05) | 2.07 bu/ac NS | |
| cv=9.86% | ||
New soybean inoculant products may be able to improve nitrogen production by increasing the numbers of rhizobia bacteria. The yield difference was not statistically significant at the 95 percent confidence level in this research. These results are contrary to many studies completed across the Midwest but consistent with local results from 1998. The lack of response to the inoculant could be due to the shortage of rainfall during the summer. Soil moisture was very limited during most of the growing season. This raises the question about the ability of the rhizobia bacteria to multiply in the dry soil environment.
The USDA inoculant used in this research was donated by Cory Bils of Bird Hybrids (www.birdhybrids.com). The Cell Tech 2000 innoculant was donated by Robert Todd, Area Sales Representative for Lipha Tech (www.liphatech.com).
For more information, contact:
Ohio State University Extension, Wyandot County
109 South Sandusky Ave., Room 16
Upper Sandusky, OH 43351
419-294-4931
bruynis.1@osu.edu