Dataset for "Cover crop inclusion and residue retention improves soybean production and physiology in drought conditions"

Authors: Whippo, Craig; Saliendra, Nicanor; Liebig, Mark

Submitted to: Zenodo
Publication Type: Database / Dataset
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/19/2023
Publication Date: 9/19/2023
Citation: Whippo, C.W., Saliendra, N.Z., Liebig, M.A. 2023. Dataset for "Cover crop inclusion and residue retention improves soybean production and physiology in drought conditions". Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8320026.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8320026

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) planting has increased in central and western North Dakota despite frequent drought occurrences that limit productivity. Soybean plants need high photosynthetic and transpiration rates to be productive, but they also need high water use efficiency when water is limited. Retaining crop residues and including cover crops into crop rotations are management strategies that could improve soybean drought resiliency in the northern Great Plains. We compared two fields with business-as-usual and aspirational management, that included residue retention and cover crops. Fluxes from eddy covariance and ancillary measurements to were used to derive meteorological, physical, and physiological attributes with the ‘big leaf’ framework. Soybean growth and physiology under drought conditions produced 29 % greater yields due toa management strategy that included cover crops and residue retention. Differences in water use, timing of phenology, and photosynthetic capacity were the mechanistic drivers of the divergence between the two fields. These results suggest that farmers can improve soybean productivity and yield stability by incorporating cover crops and residue retention into their management practices because these practices allow soybean plants shift to a more aggressive water uptake strategy.