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Ontario Grain Farmer Magazine

Dissection of soybean genetics for optimal double crop performance

Principal Investigator: Jamie Larsen

Research Institution: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Timeline: April 2024 – March 2028   

Objectives:

  • 1A. Use a novel panel of soybean near isogenic lines that differ in maturity and growth habit genes to examine impacts of planting date on agronomic traits and yield.
  • 1B. In-depth crop phenological and yield component analysis of the 10-12 best performing near isogenic lines from Objective 1a in normal and late planted trials. Determine how maturity and growth habit genotype impacts late planted soybean growth and yield formation.
  • 1C. Genotyping of existing AAFC-Harrow, AAFC-Ottawa Soybean and collaborator germplasm for maturity and growth habit genes. Selection of germplasm based on genotype and assessment for yield in a late planted trial.
  • 2. Crop sequencing of a subset of near isogenic lines from Objective 1 with winter barley and winter wheat. Analysis of the agronomic system for sustainability.

Impacts:

  • Increase carbon capture / reduce environmental impact.
  • Increased diversity of the cropping system.
  • Improved productivity and stability of cropping production systems.

Scientific Summary:

Climate change impacts Ontario agriculture production systems in several ways, including increasing the length of the growing season. Over the past decade, the growing season in the province has lengthened by an average of seven days. Double crop soybeans [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] refers to the practice of planting soybeans in a field after harvesting a previous crop, typically small grains like wheat or barley, within the same growing season. Double crop soybeans are a common practice in the Southern USA due to the long growing season in that area and have shown environmental and economic benefits to producers. Double crop soybean production systems have been explored in Ontario for many years; however, the basic understanding with regards to what makes a soybean variety successful in a double cropping system and the potential impact on agriculture sustainability is lacking. This project is designed to increase knowledge and provide information to farmers, plant breeders, and grain processors on how this production system can impact their practices or breeding programs. 

A panel of soybean near isogenic lines containing a suite of six maturity genes and one growth habit gene has been developed at AAFC-Ottawa. This panel will be evaluated at three Ontario locations for normal and late planting dates to examine impacts of genotype and planting date on yield, plant growth and phenology, prevalent pest pressures and food grade end use quality. The potential impact of this research includes new knowledge of soybean genetics to select varieties that fit a double cropping system and benchmarking of productivity for producers under winter cereal-soybean double cropping scenarios. This will also provide data to generate GHG metrics outlining what a change in production practices would mean for the environment.

External Funding Partners:

This project was funded in part by the Government of Canada under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership’s AgriScience Program.

SeCan