Objective 1. This work is a study to determine the effect of added hormone-like spray treatments to increase pod and seed numbers and thus grain yield. A survey phase of the study will look at numerous compounds that will then be fit into different management strategies for their effectiveness. Recent research has included plant growth hormones/regulators (PGR) and physiological agents that improve drought tolerance and plant health. PGR have also been used to improve frost tolerance, and plant pest tolerance as well as improve fertility use, micronutrient availability and enzymatic reactions within the plant. Some compounds to be evaluated include melatonin, salicylic acid, ascorbic acid, and kinetin.

Objective 2. This work will help identify which management strategies and timing of mitigating treatments should be used. Holding on to blooms, pods and resulting seed would seem unimportant as soybean produce many more flowers and pods than necessary, but the ability to maintain just 10 to 20 percent more reproductive structures would significantly increase grain yields.

Objective 3. The ability to hold on to flowers, pods, and seed directly increases grain yield, but the effect of treatments on soybean diseases could indirectly help increase yield. Specifically in Kansas, charcoal rot hurts many crop plants ability to uptake water. Maintaining overall plant health by increasing water flow and decreasing disease may be another effect of plant growth hormones and growth regulator compounds

1. Determine the effects of spray additives added to standard soybean treatments during the growing season in Kansas to retain more pods and seed thus increasing grain yield. This will be a survey of several compounds that will include hormone like compounds such as salicylic acid, melatonin and others. Promising compounds will then be used under both high and low management and under irrigated and non-irrigated conditions to determine their effect on soybean yield and yield components.
2. Determine the soybean growth stages most susceptible to abiotic stresses such as heat and drought so that producers can effectively modify management practices that will increase grain yield.
3. Determine if the use of spray additives in connection with high management affect disease of soybean. Specifically look at charcoal rot which affects soybean across the state and secondarily foliar diseases. Charcoal rot (Macrophomina phaseolina L.) is a serious disease in Kansas and can affect both irrigated and non-irrigated crops.

Objective 1: Replicated field work will be done all three years to evaluate the effect of the addition of plant hormone-like products to determine their effect on grain yield and yield components of soybean. During this survey phase of testing promising treatments will also be tested under high and low management and with and without irrigation. Management strategies will include things like seed treatments, foliar fungicides, insecticides, and high fertility, and their effect on grain yield and components like pod number, seed number/pod, number of 1, 2, 3, and 4 bean pods, and number of flat pods. This work will also include test weight and grain moisture, and results will be analyzed statistically to determine differences among treatments

Objective 2: Replicated field work will be done all three years to evaluate when yield reduction occurs, and potential impact of soybean grown under high management. This information will then be used to determine when mitigating treatments can best be used to affect diseases and overall plant health (growth and grain yield components). Final grain yield, test weight, and grain moisture will then be taken. Data will then be run through statistical programs to determine differences between treatments and compare with an untreated check.

Objective 3: Replicated field work will look at diseases such as charcoal rot by splitting stems and evaluating charcoal rot present as well as through standard lab practices such as CFUs. Foliar diseases will also be evaluated. Results will be evaluated through statistical analysis.

Over all objectives tested include a 5 to 6 treatment survey of compounds then 8 to 10 treatments to observe selected compounds under 2 management strategies with and without irrigation.

Add a simple, cost effective treatment to already existing managment options and decrease heat and drought effects on soybean. Producers will be able to identify critical times during bloom and pod set that are most affected by heat and drought and when treatments would best work. In addition a soybean disease called charcoal rot will be evaluated to see if it can be decreased with use of the spray additives.