Key Management Practices That Explain Soybean Yield Gaps Across the North Central US
2018
- Department of Agronomy, Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison
Project Media
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, we 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). We 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. The specific objectives of
this project were to evaluate the proposed approach for its ability to: (1) benchmark
producer soybean yields in relation to yield potential of their fields, (2) identify key
management practices that explain yield gaps, and (3) explain the drivers for some of
the observed (M)anagement × (E)nvironment interactions.