From Roots to Pods: How Nitrogen Availability Influences Soybean Yield

A study by researchers at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Department of Agronomy and Horticulture was featured Oct. 28 in the CSA News, “Nitrogen supply affects soybean yield differently within the canopy.”

Nitrogen (N) — a vital nutrient for soybean growth — is becoming a yield-limiting factor in high-yield potential fields due to mismatches between N supply and plant demand. To better understand this relationship, researchers studied nine high-yielding irrigated soybean fields across Nebraska under two treatments: one with no added nitrogen and another with full N supply.

Results showed that limited nitrogen reduced total yield by about 984 kilograms per hectare, including a 7% drop in seed number, an 8% drop in pod number, and an 11% decline in seed weight.