Richard Taylor, Extension Agronomist; rtaylor@udel.edu
A number of people have been asking about applying nitrogen (N) fertilizer to irrigated soybeans so I thought I would make a few comments about the practice in case they might help you in making the decision as to whether to spend the money in hopes of getting a yield response.
To begin with, I have tried this practice on both full-season and double-cropped soybeans at one time or another. I’ve tried applications of N at both 25 and 50 lbs N/acre at R2 (full flower) and R4 (full pod) and for double-cropped soybean I’ve tried these rates broadcast at planting. I never got a significant response to the treatments although for double-cropped soybeans I was close to seeing an increase in early plant height and pod set. For yield, the treatments were all within a bushel or two of each other.
That being said, I should point out that significant responses have sometimes been reported from down South but only when the N was applied through an irrigation system (for the reports I’ve seen) and when both boron (B) and N were applied in combination. At the time of the research that I conducted, we did not have the capability to apply N to my plots through the irrigation system. I had to apply the N with a back-pack CO2 sprayer while walking through the soybeans. I did have the studies irrigated immediately after applying the treatments to minimize the chance of foliar burn. I remember hearing from the southern researchers that they felt that the leaf damage caused by walking on N or applying N with a ground rig would negate the slight yield response that they were able to obtain using fertigation. I also did not apply B along with the N which may have also reduced the chances of obtaining a positive yield response since B is important in sugar transport and in helping flower set.
I understand that some people suggesting that N should be applied to irrigated soybeans are suggesting the inclusion of sulfur (S) (probably as ammonium sulfate) along with the N. This makes some sense from a biological point-of-view in that the plant requires enough S to make the S-containing amino acids required for protein synthesis. However by the time soybeans reach the full bloom or full pod stage, the root system has reached or will soon reach its deepest penetration of the soil. Even the sandy soils in Sussex County, Delaware, were found to have large quantities of S (typically 300 to 500 lbs S/acre) stored in the clay lenses found in the 1 to 2 foot depth of soil and soybean roots should be able to tap into this S reserve by reproductive stage.
Let me summarize below some of my thoughts on trying to increase soybean yields with N fertilizer.
● If soybeans already have matured to the full seed stage (R6) where a full size seed is found in a pod at one of the four upper most nodes with a fully expanded leaf, it is much too late for N application to increase yield potential in my opinion. All the research that I’ve seen involves the application of N at full bloom (R2) to full pod (R4) stage.
● I doubt that the addition of S as ammonium sulfate is going to increase your chance of obtaining any return on your investment since soybeans are very likely to have more than an adequate supply of S available by this time of year due to root growth. An exception would be where there is a root restricting compaction layer in the top 12 inches of soil but in this case the chance that fertilizer will improve yield is very low.
● If your expected yield potential is not at least 60 to 70 bushels/acre, N fertilization will not help. Next year, try using either the liquid seed Bradyrhizobia inoculants or some of the new graphite soybean inoculants since the new strains available can really help increase your yield potential.
● If you still plan to apply N fertilizer to your soybean crop, be sure to add about 0.5 pound of boron per acre. The data I’ve seen where a yield response was obtained with late season (R2 or R4) N application were always where B had been included with the N.
● I would suggest limiting any N application to no more than 30 lb N/acre since levels higher than this have often been shown to reduce the nitrogen fixing activity of the soybean nodules. If this occurs, you’ll be trading dollars essentially since the nodules will either stop N fixation or reduce fixation to a degree where the plant will need the N you apply just to produce the original crop’s yield potential. Some studies with early season manure applications have shown yield reductions because the crop ran out of N during the reproductive stages and had to reinitiate nodulation because the crop ran out of available N.
● Do not consider N applications on non-irrigated soybeans. Keep in mind that in the case of a dryland soybean crop, the overall limiting factor is water availability not nutrient availability.
● Also if your field has a history of soybean cyst nematode (SCN) infestations, do not add N fertilizer since SCN will be your yield limiting factor not N or S or B fertilizer.