In the Pod: Soybean Updates

You're listening to In The Pod, soybean updates, a weekly trek into the latest soybean information from NDSU Extension. How does soil sodicity and salinity affect our crops? Is it more or less challenging with soybeans? Here to guide us is Naeem Kalwar, NDSU Extension soil health specialist. Naeem, what type of soil is good for growing soybeans in North Dakota?

So soybeans are not really tolerant to soil salinity or sodicity. So the soils, they should be looking for growing soybeans for high yields and yielding high profit would be where the soil salinity levels would be very low or not a problem at all along with the sodicity. One thing they could do is to soil test those spots and soil saturated paste EC levels should be less than one or better would be less than half decisiemens per meter or millimoles per centimeter with a SAR or sodium exhaustion ratio for sodicity less than five. These are the spots I would be looking for growing soybeans.

What should producers do to avoid growing soybeans on areas that may not support good growth?

Soil sampling. Soil sampling is the best way. If in the past, they've experienced some problems in their soybeans on some of their spots. They would be better off taking soil samples and asking a soil testing lab to analyze those samples for electrical conductivity or EC for soil salinity or SAR or sodium absorption ratio for soil sodicity using saturated paste extract method. Ideal EC should be less than half or at least less than one saturated paste and SAR, less than five.

Naeem, would it be okay to grow soybeans on problem areas anyway? What will be the negatives?

Two big negatives. When we look at the economics, on paper, numbers may look very good. But when we actually go and plant soybeans on, say, problem areas, and I'm specifically talking about soil salinity and sodicity, because soybeans are one of the most sensitive plants to soil salinity in North Dakota along with some other legumes. So if they're gonna go ahead and plant anyway, they are not gonna get the yields they are looking for. The soybeans will not be profitable. They would show them on the paper. So that's number one. They'll lose money. They might be better off planting some other crops and making actually more money. That's number one. Number second, when they plant something which will not grow well on the soil, the soils are bare. They will bloat. The topsoil will bloat. There would be more soil erosion, and there would be more accumulation of salts and sodium in the future. So the spot today may be considered moderately saline. It may become very highly saline sodic in the future. So the land quality will actually suffer. It will get worse. So they'll lose money in the short term, and their quality of their land will get worse in the long run.

Thanks, Naeem. Our guest has been Naeem Kalwar, NDSU Extension soil health specialist. You're listening to In The Pod, soybean updates, a weekly trek into the latest soybean information from NDSU Extension supported by the North Dakota Soybean Council.