Evaluation of management factors affecting soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merril] yield gap in Mazandaran province using comparative performance analysis (CPA)

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Ph.D. Student of Agronomy, Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.

2 Associate Professor, Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.

3 Professor, Genetics and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute of Tabarestan, Department of Agronomy, Sari Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University, Sari, Iran.

4 Assistant Professor, Department of Biosystem Engineering, Faculty of Agricultural Engineering, Sari Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University, Sari, Iran.

5 Assistant Professor, Department of Water Engineering, Sari Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University, Sari, Iran.

Abstract

Background and objectives
Closing the gap between actual yields which are currently obtained from the fields (actual field yields) and the maximum yields that can be achieved under favorable management conditions (attainable yield) is one of the most critical problems in crop production in Iran and the world. Quantifying the yield gap and identifying its primary causes for this purpose can be a key and promising strategy to increase production per unit area and to achieve food security. Meanwhile, considering the importance of oilseeds like soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merril] in the global economy and the need for edible oils and vegetable proteins, estimating and identifying the causes of the yield gap, while increasing production, it can improve land use and labor efficiency, and leads to costs saving and sustainable production. In this way, a survey study was conducted in 2019 to identify and determine the share of each of the managerial factors affecting the soybean yield gap in 301 farms in Mazandaran province.

Materials and Methods
In the present survey, CPA method was used to investigate the decision-making factors which limit soybean yield and to estimate its yield gap in 13 soybean cultivated cities of Mazandaran province. For this purpose, all information relevant to crop management, from seedbed preparation to harvesting, was gathered through interviews with 301 soybean producers. These management factors included items such as use or non-use of a plow, number of secondary tillage, planting method, field area, previous crop, the used cultivar, seed rate and its preparation site, inoculation/non-inoculation of seeds with N-fixing bacteria, type and the amount of fertilizers, type, amount, and number of herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides usages, number of irrigations and the amount of used water, irrigation type and harvesting methods. Field monitoring data included 81 quantitative and qualitative crop management variables that the relationship between all these variables and actual field yields was analyzed using stepwise regression in SAS (v9.1) software. In the end, the contribution of each limiting factor to the creation of a yield gap was determined using the resulting production function and management parameters values.

Results
The findings of this study revealed that of the 81 studied management variables, the final production function with 10 independent variables was selected. These variables included the sari variety (J.K-695), previous crop (faba bean), use the row planter, number of secondary tillage, sulfur rate, application of herbicide, KCl, and (NH4)2HPO4 fertilizers, sprinkler irrigation system, and surface irrigation, which were identified as the main limiting factors for soybean yield in Mazandaran province. Based on the difference between the average actual yield recorded on farms (2464.97 kg ha-1) and the maximum attainable yield (6028.66 kg ha-1) predicted by the production function, the yield gap was 3563.70 kg ha-1, which is three factors including sulfur rate, previous crop (faba bean) and sprinkler irrigation system with the values of 873.87, 620.49 and 546.33 kg ha-1, respectively, had the highest share (24.52, 17.41 and 15.33%, respectively) in of the soybean yield gap.

Conclusion
According to the predicted attainable yield which derived from actual farm data it seems that adoption of proper crop managements such as using sulfur fertilizer resources appropriate to plant needs, an appropriate crop rotation and selection of plants suitable for rotation, providing facilities and modernization of agricultural machinery, and develop and promote new irrigation can reduce this gap (59%) and significantly improve soybean yield in Mazandaran province.

Keywords

References

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Journal of Crop Production
Volume 15, Issue 1
March 2022
Pages 73-100

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