Soybean yield response to gypsum soil amendment, cover crop and rotation

Authors: RAUT, YOGENDRA - Air Force Institute Of Technology, Afit; SHEDEKAR, VINAYAK - The Ohio State University; ISLAM, KHANDAKAR - The Ohio State University; Gonzalez, Javier; Watts, Dexter; DICK, WARREN - The Ohio State University; Flanagan, Dennis; Fausey, Norman; BATTE, MARVIN - The Ohio State University; REEDER, RANDALL - The Ohio State University; Vantoai, Tara

Submitted to: Agricultural & Environmental Letters
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/20/2020
Publication Date: 6/29/2020
Citation: Raut, Y.Y., Shedekar, V.S., Islam, K.R., Gonzalez, J.M., Watts, D.B., Dick, W.A., Flanagan, D.C., Fausey, N.R., Batte, M.T., Reeder, R.C., Vantoai, T.T. 2020. Soybean yield response to gypsum soil amendment, cover crop and rotation. Agricultural and Environmental Letters. 5:e20020. https://doi.org/10.1002/ael2.20020.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ael2.20020

Interpretive Summary: Growing demand for soybean creates pressure to expand soybean production onto marginal lands and grow soybean continuously. Experiments comparing different management practices including continuous soybean with soybean–corn rotation, cereal rye cover crop with no cover crop, and surface-applied gypsum (0, 1, and 2 ton/acre) were conducted at Shorter, AL, Farmland, IN, Hoytville, OH, and Piketon, OH, for 5 years to evaluate soybean yield response to these practices across a range of soil types and climatic conditions. Soybean showed no yield response to gypsum amendment. In the Piketon and Shorter sites, soybean yield increased with cover crops, and soybean yield was greater with corn in rotation than with continuous soybean. Crop production practices that promote soil health and sustainability may not provide yield improvement.

Technical Abstract: Growing demand for soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] creates pressure to expand soybean production onto marginal lands and grow soybean continuously. Experiments comparing continuous soybean with soybean–corn (Zea mays L.) rotation, cereal rye [Secale cereale (L.)] cover crop with no cover crop, and flue-gas desulfurization (FGD) gypsum surface-applied at 0, 1.1, and 2.2 Mg ha-1 were conducted at Shorter, AL, Farmland, IN, Hoytville, OH, and Piketon, OH, for 5 yr. The objective was to evaluate soybean yield response to these practices across a range of soil types and climatic conditions. Response to continuous soybean and cover crop varied by site (soil drainage class) with no interaction effects. Continuous soybean reduced yield only on well- and moderately well-drained soil types. Cover crop reduced yield on the very poorly drained soil type and increased yield on the well-drained soil type. Crop production practices that promote soil health and sustainability may not provide yield improvement.