USC 2017

July 19, 2017

All soybeans are at the R2 stage of development. Soybean management strategies can be visually distinguished one from another due to differences in row spacing and weed control.  Team C plots have had five rounds of inter-row cultivation, but weeds such as volunteer tillage radish and thistle are present in high numbers within rows.

Nodulation was assessed by counting the number of live root nodules on five random plants per plot (3 treatments x 3 reps = total of 9 plots), calculating the average for each team. All teams had adequate nodulation (recommendation: 5-10 nodules per plant for maximized yield), but Team A soybeans had double the amount of nodules (14 per plant) compared to Teams B and C (7 nodules per plant). This was likely due to double inoculation on a field that had no previous history of soybeans.