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PRODUCTION PAPER

Soybean Growth and Development Response to Rotation Sequence and Tillage System

^a Dep. of Agron., Iowa State Univ., 2104 Agronomy Hall, Ames, IA 50011
^b Dep. of Agron., Univ. of Wisconsin, 1575 Linden Dr., Moore Hall, Madison, WI 53706

^* Corresponding author (palle{at}iastate.edu).

Received for publication August 7, 2003. Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] benefits in yield when rotated with corn (Zea mays L.), but the mechanism of the rotation effect is not fully understood. The objective of this study was to determine effects of cropping sequence and tillage on soybean growth and plant development. A 2-yr field study was conducted using conventional tillage and no-tillage systems in seven different corn and soybean rotation sequences. At physiological maturity, plots of first-year soybean after 5 yr of consecutive corn and the annually rotated soybean averaged 8% higher soil moisture content and 17% more dry matter per plant than the remaining five rotation sequences. Conventional tillage averaged 6% higher soil moisture content and 5% greater leaf area index than the no-tillage system. In 2000, leaf area index was 29% higher for the first-year soybean after 5-yr corn and the annually rotated soybean than the remaining five rotation sequences. No differences in leaf area index were observed among the different rotation sequences in 2001. Soybean plants were 6% taller in first-year soybean after 5-yr corn, second-year soybean, and annually rotated soybean than the remaining four rotation sequences. The no-tillage system averaged 6% more dry matter plant per plant and 7% taller plants than the conventional tillage system. These findings support the hypothesis that growth and alterations in plant development occur when soybean is grown in different rotation sequences and tillage systems. These alterations may reflect the plant response to the corn–soybean rotation effect on soybean growth and development, but the underlying mechanism of the effect remains unknown.