By Shawn P. Conley
Increased soybean commodity prices in the last 10 years have generated inter- est in developing high-input systems to increase yield. However, little peer- reviewed information exists about the effects of input-intensive, high-yield management on soybean yield and profitability, as well as their interactions with basic agronomic practices.
In 2009, the United Soybean Board funded a study called the “Kitchen Sink Project” to begin examining some of these questions. The research was con- ducted in six states (Arkansas, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, and Min- nesota) from 2009 to 2011. While there were several projects within this study, one of the main projects focused on row spacing and a “kitchen sink” approach to input use. The “kitchen sink” treatment included additional soil-applied fer- tilizer, seed treatment fungicides and insecticide, seed-applied inoculant, foliar fertilizer, and foliar fungicide. To read more about the “kitchen sink” project and others, please follow the link below:
http://www.coolbean.info/library/documents/SB_HighInputSystems_2016_FINAL_3.pdf