Agronomy Journal 92:1135-1139 (2000)
© 2000 American Society of Agronomy
SOYBEAN
A Comparison of Three Methods for Reducing Iron-Deficiency Chlorosis in Soybean
R.Jay Goos and
Brian E. Johnson
Dep. of Soil Sci., North Dakota State Univ., Fargo, ND 58105 USA
rj_goos{at}ndsu.nodak.edu
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ABSTRACT
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Iron-deficiency chlorosis is common when soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] is grown on calcareous soils. The objective of this study was to compare the relative effectiveness of cultivar selection, foliar sprays, and FeEDDHA seed treatment for reducing chlorosis and increasing the yield of soybean planted in 15-cm rows. Three cultivars (`Glacier', `Council', and `Traill') were grown in a factorial combination with two levels of foliar spray (control vs. two FeEDTA sprays) and two levels of seed treatment (control vs. FeEDDHA seed treatment). The cultivars gave an expected chlorosis response, with Glacier being the most susceptible, and Traill being the most resistant. Foliar sprays significantly (P 
0.05) reduced chlorosis at two sites. Seed treatment with FeEDDHA did not reduce chlorosis although this treatment was effective in prior studies with soybean planted in 76-cm rows. Iron treatments did not reduce the chlorosis scores of Glacier to the level of Council or Traill without Fe treatments. Seed yields were significantly different for cultivars at all sites. Averaged across sites and Fe treatments, the yields were 1361, 1913, and 2203 kg ha-1, for Glacier, Council, and Traill, respectively. Foliar sprays tended to increase the yield of Glacier at two sites and significantly increased the yield of all three cultivars at another site. The yield responses to foliar sprays, when obtained, were about 300 kg ha-1. FeEDDHA seed treatment did not increase seed yield. Cultivar selection remains the most practical control measure for Fe-deficiency chlorosis of soybean grown in narrow rows.
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INTRODUCTION
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IRON-DEFICIENCY CHLOROSIS is a common problem when soybean is grown on calcareous soils in the North-Central region of the USA. The severity of chlorosis is related to soil properties such as pH, temperature, CaCO3 content, water content, and the concentration of HCO-3 in the soil solution (Inskeep and Bloom, 1986; Moraghan and Mascagni, 1991). Soybean cultivars vary widely in chlorosis resistance (Byron and Lambert, 1983; Diers and Fehr, 1989; Fairbanks et al., 1987). Studies in Minnesota indicated that seed treatment with FeEDDHA can reduce chlorosis and increase soybean yields (Karkosh et al., 1988). Foliar sprays of FeEDDHA have been used to alleviate Fe deficiency of soybean in Minnesota (Randall, 1981). Heavy seeding rates can also reduce chlorosis when soybean is planted in wide (e.g., 76 cm) rows (Goos and Johnson, 2000; Penas et al., 1990). Few studies have compared the treatment options for the control of Fe-deficiency chlorosis of soybean planted in narrow rows. The objective of this study was to compare the relative effectiveness of cultivar selection, foliar sprays, and seed treatment with FeEDDHA for reducing chlorosis and increasing the yield of soybean planted in narrow rows.
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Materials and methods
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Four field studies were conducted in eastern North Dakota during the 1999 growing season on sites with a history of producing Fe-deficiency chlorosis in soybean. The selected site characteristics are shown in Table 1
. Topsoil (0–15 cm) samples were taken from 20 random areas within the experimental area, air-dried, crushed (<2 mm), mixed, subsampled, and analyzed by routine soil tests for available nutrients (Dahnke, 1988), CaCO3 equivalent (Williams, 1949), saturation extract composition (Rhoades, 1982), and particle size analysis using the hydrometer method (Day, 1965). The experimental design was a complete factorial of three cultivars x two foliar spray treatments x two FeEDDHA seed treatments. The treatments were arranged in a randomized complete block design with four replicates. The three cultivars, in order of increasing chlorosis resistance, were Glacier (Orf and Denny, 1997), Council (Helms and Halvorson, 1996), and Traill (Helms and Nelson, 1998). Screening trials in the greenhouse indicate that these three cultivars represent the range of chlorosis resistance present in commonly grown cultivars in North Dakota (Goos and Johnson, 2000). The two foliar spray treatments were no spray vs. two sprays, each consisting of 1.1 kg ha-1 of FeEDTA (14% Fe, Ciba Specialty Chem., Suffolk, VA) applied with a surfactant (Activator 90, Loveland Industries, Greeley, CO) in 140 L ha-1 of water. The first application was made at the 1 to 2 trifoliolate stage and repeated 2 wk later at the 4 to 5 trifoliolate stage. The two seed treatment rates were no treatment vs. seed coating with 0.56 kg ha-1 of a finely powdered FeEDDHA product (6% Fe, Riverside Terra, Sioux City, IA). The chelate was mixed with the seed after moistening the seed with 10 mL kg-1 of a solution containing 100 g L-1 of Tween 80 (J.T. Baker, Phillipsburg, NY) as a sticker. The chemical structures and properties of EDTA and EDDHA are described by Havlin et al. (1999). After seed treatment, the seed was air-dried and planted with a 7-row cone seeder at a rate of 370000 seed ha-1 with a row spacing of 15 cm. Individual plot size was 1.2 by 7.5 m.
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Table 1 Chemical characteristics of the 0- to 15-cm soil layer and soil classification of the four sites, North Dakota, 1999
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The first visual chlorosis rating was made 1 wk after the first foliar spray treatment, at the 2 to 3 trifoliolate stage. The second visual chlorosis rating was made 2 wk after the first chlorosis rating (1 wk after the second foliar spray treatment), at about the 6 trifoliolate stage. The ratings were made without knowledge of the treatments that were being rated and were the average of ratings from two people at opposite ends of each plot. The scale used was 1 = no chlorosis, 2 = slight general chlorosis of the upper leaves, 3 = distinct interveinal chlorosis of the upper leaves but no stunting or necrosis apparent, 4 = distinct interveinal chlorosis of the upper leaves with stunted growth or some leaf necrosis, and 5 = growing point and upper leaves necrotic or entire plants dead. Chlorosis in each plot was rated ± 0.5 unit. At maturity, the plants in a 1.2- by 5-m area of each plot were cut at the soil surface, bagged, dried (50°C), threshed, and the grain was cleaned and weighed.
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Results and discussion
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All soils were alkaline (pH of 7.9–8.3) and calcareous (Table 1). The Galesburg site was saline (EC >4 dS m-1), and the Galesburg and Leonard sites had elevated levels of Na in the topsoil. The spring of 1999 was wetter than normal, and it was not possible to seed the experiments until June. Overall, the growing season was wetter than normal, and chlorosis in soybean fields was widespread in eastern North Dakota. Killing frosts did not arrive until mid-October, and all cultivars were successfully grown to maturity.
Chlorosis developed rapidly at all sites. The first chlorosis rating (Table 2)
, taken at the 2 to 3 trifoliolate stage, showed pronounced chlorosis of Glacier and significantly (P 0.05) less chlorosis with Council or Traill at all sites. Averaged across sites, foliar spray treatments, and seed treatments, chlorosis ratings were 2.9 for Glacier, 2.3 for Council, and 1.8 for Traill. Foliar spray did not reduce chlorosis at any site, but the ratings were taken only 1 wk after spraying.
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Table 2 Effects of cultivar, foliar spray with FeEDTA, and seed treatment with FeEDDHA on the severity of Fe-deficiency chlorosis. First rating, 2–3 trifoliolate stage, North Dakota, 1999
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Seed treatment with FeEDDHA did not decrease chlorosis at any of the sites at the 2 to 3 trifoliolate stage. This was contrary to other studies (Karkosh et al., 1988) and our own preliminary studies in 1998 (Goos and Johnson, 1999), which showed a good early season greening effect of FeEDDHA seed treatment at rates similar to the rate used in this study. A major difference between these two studies and this study was row spacing. Karkosh et al. (1988) and Goos and Johnson (1999) evaluated FeEDDHA seed treatments with soybean planted in 76-cm rows, whereas a 15-cm row spacing was used in the present study. At equal seeding rates, the average distance between individual seed is about five times greater with 15-cm rows than with 76-cm rows. For example, at the recommended seeding rate of 370000 seed ha-1 for North Dakota, the average spacing between seed is 3.6 cm with a 76-cm row spacing vs. 18 cm with a 15-cm row spacing. Perhaps with a 76-cm row spacing there was an adequate concentration of FeEDDHA along the row to give an early season greening effect, but an inadequate concentration with a 15-cm row spacing at the FeEDDHA rate tested.
Chlorosis progressed at all sites and was more severe at about the 6 trifoliolate stage than 2 wk earlier (Table 3)
. Overall, sites in order of increasing chlorosis were Amenia, Galesburg, Leonard, and Argusville. It was difficult to relate the degree of chlorosis by site to soil test results (Table 1). Of the soil factors identified as promoting chlorosis (increasing pH, increasing CaCO3 content, decreasing DTPA-extractable Fe, increasing salinity, and increasing HCO-3 content of the soil solution), only CaCO3 content ranked the sites in the same order listed above. This illustrates the difficulty of predicting the severity of Fe-deficiency chlorosis based on simple soil tests.
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Table 3 Effects of cultivar, foliar spray with FeEDTA, and seed treatment with FeEDDHA on the severity of Fe-deficiency chlorosis. Second rating, 6 trifoliolate stage, North Dakota, 1999
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Averaged across sites and Fe treatments, chlorosis severity averaged 3.4 for Glacier, 2.4 for Council, and 2.2 for Traill, for a difference of 1.2 chlorosis units between the least and most resistant cultivar. Foliar sprays with FeEDTA significantly reduced chlorosis at two sites, Argusville and Galesburg, but the average reduction in chlorosis was only 0.3 to 0.4 units at these sites—much less than was possible with the selection of a resistant cultivar at the same sites (1.2 units). Seed treatment tended to reduce chlorosis by an average of 0.4 units at Leonard, but the difference could not be declared statistically significant. At no site were foliar sprays and seed treatments able to lower the chlorosis scores of Glacier to levels comparable to Council or Traill without Fe treatment. It was not possible in this study to make a chlorosis-susceptible cultivar acceptable on a calcareous soil, even with multiple foliar sprays.
The severity of chlorosis tended to decline in all cultivars after the second chlorosis rating, but the growth of Glacier was visibly poorer than the other two cultivars, particularly at Amenia and Argusville. The most striking recovery was observed at the Leonard site, which is difficult to explain given its alkalinity and season-long field wetness. Despite some visual recovery from chlorosis, yields were still reduced by Fe deficiency (Table 4)
. Final yields averaged 1361, 1913, and 2203 kg ha-1 for Glacier, Council, and Traill. In standard variety trials unaffected by chlorosis (T. Helms, personal communication, 1999), Council typically has 111% of the yield of Traill, but under conditions of Fe stress in these four studies, Council had only 87% of the yield of Traill. In standard variety trials unaffected by chlorosis, Glacier typically has 93% of the yield of Traill, but in these four studies, Glacier had only 61% of the yield of Traill. The poor performance of Glacier under conditions of Fe-deficiency chlorosis was expected, but it appears that Council also suffered a yield loss relative to Traill. It is recommended that soybean cultivars grown on chlorosis-producing soils in this area be at least as resistant to chlorosis as Council. Traill, Council, and Glacier have been adopted as the reference cultivars for the greenhouse screening of soybean cultivars for chlorosis resistance in North Dakota (Goos and Johnson, 2000).
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Table 4 Effects of cultivar, foliar spray with FeEDTA, and seed treatment with FeEDDHA on the soybean seed yield, North Dakota, 1999
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Foliar sprays significantly increased seed yield the Galesburg site. At Galesburg, the yield of all three cultivars was increased consistently, by an average of 303 kg ha-1. At the Argusville site, there was a significant interaction between foliar sprays and cultivars. Foliar sprays increased the yield of Glacier by about 400 kg ha-1 at Argusville, but they did not increase the yield of the other two cultivars. Although not statistically significant, a similar trend was observed at Amena where Glacier gave a larger response to foliar sprays than the more resistant cultivars. It might be expected that Fe treatments would be most beneficial to the cultivars that are the most sensitive to chlorosis, as we observed with Glacier, but other studies have suggested the opposite. Zaiter et al. (1992) treated resistant and susceptible cultivars of dry bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) with foliar sprays of FeEDDHA and found the largest yield responses with those cultivars only showing slight chlorosis. Karkosh et al. (1988) found a much larger yield response of chlorosis-resistant cultivars of soybean to FeEDDHA seed treatment than chlorosis-susceptible cultivars under conditions of severe chlorosis. Even though foliar sprays with FeEDTA tended to increase the yield of Glacier at Amenia and Argusville, the yield was still lower than the yields at Council or Traill. Seed treatment with FeEDDHA had no effect on yields at any site.
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Conclusions
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Iron-deficiency chlorosis is a persistent problem with soybean production in the North-Central region of the USA. When soybean is planted in narrow rows, it appears that cultivar selection is the only practical method of reducing chlorosis. Foliar sprays with FeEDTA or seed treatment with FeEDDHA were far less effective control measures than variety selection. Further treatment options seem to be more abundant for soybean planted in wide (e.g., 76 cm) rows than narrow rows (Karkosh et al., 1988; Goos and Johnson, 2000; Penas et al., 1990; Randall, 1981).
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
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We thank Mike Sweeney for soil classification, Keith Jacobson for soil analyses, and Ted Helms for yield data from variety trials. We also thank the Fluid Fertilizer Foundation and Terra Industries for financial support of these experiments.
Received for publication December 13, 1999.
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REFERENCES
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TOP
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
