Research summary of "Development of complex technology for organic and low-input soy production"

EIP-AGRI project

I. Introduction

Within the framework of the EIP-AGRI project "Development of complex technologies for organic and low-input soybean production", different types of soybean varieties were tested under different organic conditions in 2020 and 2021. Using different agrotechnical methods, our aim was to develop a set of criteria to evaluate the suitability of the varieties for organic production. The project was carried out on farms in Miháld (Southern Transdanubia), Mosonmagyaróvár (Western Transdanubia), Jászdózsa (Northern Great Plain) and Gyula (Southern Great Plain).

Figure 1: EIP-AGRI soy on-farm sites in 2020 - 2021

In selecting the varieties tested, our aim was to ensure that different growth types and agronomic traits were represented in the tests, and that the variety was relevant to organic farmers, which means a domestic maintainer and distributor background.

II. The varieties and technologies tested

III. Methodology for the evaluation of varieties

1. Intensity of development

The development of the plant population can be assessed by the time taken for each development stage from sowing. There can be significant differences between maturity groups based on the timing of the growing season. In soybean, vegetative and generative development take place in parallel, so it is not practical to separate them.

2. Disease resistance, weed competition ability, endurance

In organic farming, natural resistance to biotic and abiotic factors is of paramount importance, so pathological recruitment is also essential for variety evaluation.

3. Agronomic characteristics and productivity

The suitability of each variety for a given organic and agrotechnical context, requires knowledge of the type of shoot system and the variety-specific characteristics of the yield-forming elements, for which dry plant samples taken before harvest are the most suitable.

    4. Agronomic and yield data of the varieties tested

IV. Conclusions

1. Varieties may behave differently in organic and conventional production. In organic production, the Es Mentor variety had the best protein stability. with a protein content above 40%. The variety Albenga outperformed Mentor in rather low input technology and reached yields close to 4 t/ha.

2. The yield stability of varieties also varies in organic farming. For example, the Bettina variety achieved a yield average of 3 t/ha with organic technology. but its yield stability was below that of Albenga and Mentor. Aires. with its special nutritional characteristics (low trypsin inhibitor content), was able to outperform Mentor several times which justifies its higher production rate in organic farming.

3. Production technology also affects the performance of varieties. Overall. we measured 2-3% lower protein yields in the row-spaced cereal stand, with the ES Mentor variety all having protein yields above 40%. The tillage method did not significantly affect the average yield and protein yield. ES Mentor had the most stable protein content (above 40%) and Bettina was the yield leader, outperforming the other varieties in three of the four sowing/planting techniques.

Annex 1: Illustrations