Research: Key Management Practices That Explain Soybean Yield Gaps

 

To date, identification of causes of yield gaps (difference between maximum yield potential and measured yield in producer yields) has been restricted to small geographic areas. In this study, researchers developed a novel approach that combines producer-reported data and a spatial framework to identify explanatory causes of yield gap over large geographic regions with diversity of climate, soils, and water regimes (rainfed and irrigated).

 

This research focused on soybean in the North-Central United States region, which accounts for approximately one third of global soybean production, as a case study to provide a proof of concept on the proposed approach.