Soybean Systems

The primary goal of this working group is to increase the productivity of soybean systems, thereby, providing improved sustainability (economic, social, and environmental) through nutrient stewardship and responsible crop management. This working group that was started in 2013 keeping in mind (a) the importance of soybean crop in the world and (b) the fact that in all regions (whether high- or low-yielding), soybean yield increases have been stagnant in the last 5-10 years. The annual soybean grain yield increases went from 99 kg/ha/year in 1965-2010 to a mere 29 kg/ha/year in 2005-2010—a decrease of 71%. The group is working on four themes, viz., (a) defining soybean nutrient management for low-yielding areas; (b) educating farmers and agronomists in soybean management and fertilization; (c) closing yield gap between current and attainable yields in high-yielding regions; and (d) describing the yield gap among regions based on the characterization of soybean systems.