2020
Development of New Biological Agents for Seed Treatment and Biofertilization to Promote Soybean Growth
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Contributor/Checkoff:
Louisiana Soybean and Grain Research and Promotion Board
Category:
Sustainable Production
Keywords:
DiseaseField management Pest
Parent Project:
Development of New Biological Agents for Seed Treatment and Biofertilization to Promote Soybean Growth
Lead Principal Investigator:
Jong Hyun Ham, Louisiana State University AgCenter
Co-Principal Investigators:
Project Code:
Contributing Organization (Checkoff):
Louisiana Soybean and Grain Research and Promotion Board
$20,000
Institution Funded:
Louisiana State University AgCenter
$20,000
Brief Project Summary:

Soil teams with life that supports crop growth. This innovative effort has identified beneficial bacteria that can be used as the foundation of biological inputs to improve soybean production. Some soil bacteria show benefits to the plants, such as pathogen suppression or growth promotion. The goal is to develop new biological seed treatment formulations and biofertilizers for soybeans. This multi-year research project aims to develop innovative methods for sustainable production of soybeans using beneficial soybean-associated bacteria and materials derived from biochar and chitosan, which are agricultural byproducts.

Key Benefactors:
farmers, agronomists, Extension agents

Information And Results
Project Deliverables

For Objectives 1 and 2. Bacterial agents having beneficial activities for soybean growth will continue to be selected among soybean-associated bacteria, and they will be identified based on 16S rDNA sequence information. New bacterial consortia will be constructed and tested along with the previously chosen ones (Set-1 and Set-2) for their growth-promoting activities. Further, they will be tested in the pots filled with field soil for preliminary evaluation of their growth-promoting functions in the field soil condition. Two best-performing bacterial consortia will be chosen to extract DNA samples of the rhizospheric microbiomes from the treated plants for characterization of the microbial community affected by the treated bacterial consortia.

For Objective 3. Effects of the seed treatments with biochar and chitosan on the growth of soybean plants and the suppression of disease development caused by R. solani will be investigated in the greenhouse along with selected bacterial agents and their consortia. Pelletized poultry manure will be modified by addition of biochar, chitosan and biological agents with various combinations. Up to 10 different pelletized formulations will be tested in the greenhouse for their fertilizing efficacy in comparison with a commercial fertilizer. Effects of the pelletized formulations on the suppression of soybean disease will also be evaluated by inoculation of soybean plants with the soybean pathogen, R. solani. Two best-performing formulations on both soybean growth and disease suppression will be chosen for validation trials in the next year in both greenhouse and field conditions.

Final Project Results

The United Soybean Research Retention policy will display final reports with the project once completed but working files will be purged after three years. And financial information after seven years. All pertinent information is in the final report or if you want more information, please contact the project lead at your state soybean organization or principal investigator listed on the project.