Research

The Indiana Soybean Alliance (ISA) Research committee works with national and regional research programs and scientists at Purdue University to identify soybean research projects that enhance the productivity and dependability of soybean production in Indiana, and minimize production costs while producing soybeans in a sustainable, environmentally acceptable manner.

Current ISA Soybean Research Programs:

Soybean Alliance Professor in Soybean Utilization Research Chair Endowment

To insure soybean farmers commitment to finding new uses for soybeans, Indiana soybean farmers with their checkoff have committed $1.5 million for 2 Endowed Research Chairs in soybean utilization and soybean genetics at Purdue University. Purdue will match the gift to establish an additional faculty position dedicated to soybean research. Dr. Bernie Tao, has been named to the soybean utilization chair.

Bernie Tao - Purdue Endowment Chair 

Farmer-Nominated Soybean Variety Testing at Purdue

Indiana soybean farmers had the opportunity to decide which soybean seed varieties are included in the annual Purdue Soybean Performance Program as a result of a new partnership between the Indiana Soybean Alliance (ISA) and Purdue Agronomy. The program is designed to ensure producers have an objective source of information about the plant health and yield characteristics of individual soybean varieties. This new checkoff-funded program allowed Hoosier soybean farmers to “nominate” the soybean varieties they believe should be tested.

Purdue Crop Performance Program

 North Central Soybean Research Program

The North Central Soybean Research Program (NCSRP) is a partnership of 12 soybean checkoff organizations, including Indiana, that works to improve soybean performance through cooperative research and education. It is a farmer-led organization that invests soybean checkoff funds in research programs to better understand and manage plant stressors that reduce soybean yield and farmer profitability.

The North Central Soybean Research Program

Purdue Research Studies Being Funded by the Checkoff in 2011

Identification of Factors Limiting Soybean Yields and On-Farm Verification of BMPs

Soybean producers need high crop yields to overcome rising input costs, dwindling farmland, and increasing global demand for soybean. This research aims to improve soybean production practices in Indiana by using field surveys and on-farm verification of best management practices (BMPs).

The overall goal of this research is to protect and enhance soybean yields by improving and refining current production practices. The identification of yield-limiting factors within specific regions of Indiana will shape the Extension and research blueprint for numerous years.

 Monitoring for Soybean Disease in Indiana

This research will continue monitoring the soybean sentinel plot system in Indiana in 2010 for soybean rust infection and other foliar diseases of soybean.

The risk of year-to-year development of soybean rust in Indiana is dependent upon the level of disease in the southern U.S, and the timing and frequency of weather events that can move spores of the fungus north, such as hurricanes. Researchers do not have a complete understanding of how the disease will move from region to region and what the impact of soybean rust damage may be for soybeans in the Midwest. Because of this, a sentinel plot system has been implemented in Indiana and other soybean producing states to monitor soybean rust movement from the southern U.S.

Effective Micronutrient Management for Higher Soybean Yields

Reports of world record soybean yields by a farmer in Missouri in recent years have prompted new thinking about the merits of more intensive management of soybean. While most Indiana soybean farmers do not have access to irrigation, there are opportunities to adopt some of the nutrient aspects of these high yield systems in Indiana. Micronutrient applications are being considered on many farms that just a few years ago would not apply any nutrients for soybean other than the macronutrients applied to the prior corn year. Micronutrient applications may or may not be economical depending on the soil, environment, and other aspects of management. There is a real need to investigate and document the kinds of soybean yield responses that are possible in Indiana, and to document what the critical levels for Mn and Zn are in soybean leaves at various stages of development.

The long-term goals of this research over the next two years are to improve the management of micro nutrients such as Mn and Zn to help achieve the highest soybean yields possible in Indiana cropping systems that are ever more reliant on glyphosate for weed control.

Genetic Dissection of Uncharacterized Rps Genes Conferring Resistance to Phytophthora Root Rot and Development of Molecular Markers Associated with RPS Genes for Marker Assisted Selection in Soybeans

The overall objectives of this project are to perform genetic analysis of Phytophthora (a pathogen that affects soybeans) resistance carried by two soybean varieties, to explore new genetic approaches to mapping (finding chromosomal locations) of Rps genes, and to develop molecular markers tightly linked to or within Rps genes. These markers then can be economically and effectively used in marker-assisted selection (MAS) for soybean breeding.

Evaluation of the Cardiovascular Benefits of Low-linolenic Soy Oil

The main objective of this research is to determine the additional cardiovascular benefits of low-lin soy oil vs. regular soy oil in lowering total lipids, cholesterol and saturated fats.

Past research efforts have shown that saturated fatty acids cause inflammation in fat cells and are partly responsible for inflammation in obesity. However, consumption of diets rich in unsaturated oils such as soy oil, with its high content of linoleic acid, is beneficial in lowering body cholesterol content. The low-lin oil may even perform better than regular soy oil because it has a lower content of alpha linolenic acid, which means lower free radicals may be generated in the body by consuming the low-lin oil.

For more information related to 2010 Research, click here