Assessing the effects of agronomic management practices on soybean (Glycine max L.,) residue quality in the lower Mississippi Delta

Authors: PINNAMANENI, SRINIVASA - Oak Ridge Institute For Science And Education (ORISE); Anapalli, Saseendran

Submitted to: Plants
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/29/2021
Publication Date: 6/30/2021
Citation: Pinnamaneni, S., Anapalli, S.S. 2021. Assessing the effects of agronomic management practices on soybean (Glycine max L.,) residue quality in the lower Mississippi Delta. Plants. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10071337.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10071337

Interpretive Summary: Harvesting crop residue for feeding cattle has increased recently due to prevailing high hay prices and reduced supply of other forages and silage in the markets. Higher protein and fiber contents in crop residues harvested can contribute to higher cattle feed quality. Certain agricultural management practices can impact these qualities positively or negatively. Scientists with the USDA ARS Sustainable Water Management Research Unit, Stoneville, MS, studied the effects of planting and irrigation rates on soybean residue quality in the Lower MS Delta, USA. Results of the study indicate a potential for improving soybean residue qualities by managing irrigation to a certain extent in soybean production systems in the Lower MS Delta region. However, seasonal climate played an important role in shaping the qualities.

Technical Abstract: Livestock producers often resort to either for baling or grazing of crop residues due to prevailing high hay prices and reduced supply of other forages and silage in the markets. A two-year study (2018-2019) was conducted on maturity group IV cultivar ‘31RY45 Dyna-Gro’ to investigate the effects of irrigation (AI, all row-irrigation; ARI, alternate row irrigation; and RF, rainfed) and planting pattern, PP (SR, single row; and TR, twin-row) on soybean post-grain harvest residue quality such as crude protein (CP), acid detergent fiber (ADF), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent lignin (ADL), and total digestible nutrients (TDN). Most of the above parameters were significantly effected except net energy for maintenance (NEM) from the contrasting climate (amounts and distribution of precipitation and solar radiation, particularly during July through August coinciding with early crop reproductive stages and maturity). The CP levels and relative feed value (RFV) were the most significantly influenced by the climate. The lower RFV values were attributable to nutrient translocation to seeds and higher lignification during plant senescence towards the grain filling stage of the crop. Irrigation has a significant effect on CP, ADF, NDF and TDN while PP affected only NDF. These results indicate that both irrigation and weather during soybean seed development can alter quality parameters, thereby playing critical roles in its relative feed value. However, the practice of harvesting soybean residue on long term should be sustainable after meeting the guidelines of local soil conservation programs and farm economics will be positive if the distance between residue production field and consumption site (dairy/ranch) is minimum, due to high transportation costs.