Food Soybean Varieties in Low-Input Conditions International Congress - Diversity Strategies for organic and low input agricultures and their food systems. Nantes, 7th - 9th July 2014 Food Soybean Varieties in Low-Input Conditions Grain Yield and Quality from Three NE Italy Environments Fabiano Miceli1, Michael Centa1, Riccardo De Infanti1, Marco Signor2 1DISA, University of Udine, Udine, Italy 2 ERSA, Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, Pozzuolo del Friuli, Italy fabiano.miceli@uniud.it Introduction Italy ranks at the 15th place among soybean producing countries (Rüdelsheim and Smets 2012). Most of the italian soybean acreage is located in the Po valley (Miceli 2012). Organic production accounts for 4.5 % of the soybean acreage in the EU and only 2.3% in Italy. Crushing industry is largely dependent upon imported (i.e. > 90% GM) grain to sustain huge requirements of the livestock feed industry. Taking into account the GM issue, soyfood processors and selected feed industries are considering alternative, certified non-GM, seed sources. Knowledge about quantitative and qualitative responses of soybean varieties adapted to low-input and/or organic agriculture may facilitate farmers to enter into those production systems. Methods Four soybean varieties, tentatively suited for food-grade production (large seeds, pale hilum, high seed protein) were tested in 2013 in three Friuli Venezia Giulia (NE Italy) locations (latitude between 45°43’25” and 46°02’16” N). Three Maturity Group (MG) I plus one MG 0 varieties were included in the field test. Planting dates varied with locations, from full-season crop (early May, at Fossalon) to double crop (early July, at Udine). Regimes, locations and planting dates were united and assessed as three distinct environments. Additional data are presented in table 1. The experiment was arranged in blocks, with six reps for each environment. Table 1. Environments, soils and management of the 2013 experiment. Results The environment per se had a large and significant impact on most traits (Table 2). On average, grain yields reached 2.78 t DM ha-1 after 16 weeks (VE-R8, Fehr & Caviness scale). Poor yields were obtained at Udine (1.45 t ha-1) compared with the other two environments. Possible drivers for such yields were late planting, a lower crop density (17.5 plants m-2 at harvest at Udine, 33.2 and 20.2 plants m-2 respectively at Fossalon and Fiume Veneto), which in turn could be related to a higher weed density (data not presented). Table 2. Environment and variety effects on yield, crop duration and seed quality from the 2013 experiment. No differences were observed among varieties for yield, thousand seed weight and other yield components. Seed composition was significantly influenced by both the environment and the genotype. Energy and Prana had higher seed protein concentration (441 g kg-1) compared to the other two genotypes (Table 2). A visual inspection of harvested seeds (an example in Figure 1) showed that sound seeds, i.e. those with no major sign of deterioration or discoloration, dropped under double-crop conditions (54 percent of DW at Udine vs. 98 and 89 percent, respectively at Fossalon and Fiume Veneto). The increase of seed proteins, a known effect of late planting (Benati et al. 1988; Vollmann et al. 2000), was associated to seed quality degradation (Figure 2). From the logistic model, seed protein levels above 425 g kg-1 were conductive to a steep decline in seed quality. Breeders usually face trade-offs across grain yield, grain protein and technological quality traits. Research on a broader scale will be needed to help breeders and farmers interested in food-grade soybean production. Fossalon Figure 1. Seeds appearance (cv. Energy) at Fossalon and Udine. Sound seeds in the centre dishes. Udine Figure 2. Technological quality in soybean seeds (all varieties) from the three environments. References Benati R. F. Danuso, M. Amaducci, G. Venturi 1988. Effetti dell’epoca di semina sul contenuto proteico e lipidico del seme di soia (Glycine max (L.) Merr). Riv. Agron., 22, 4:279-287. Miceli F. 2012. Una piattaforma danubiana per la soia italiana non-GM? Bioagricoltura, 135-136, 40-41. Rüdelsheim P. L. J., G. Smets 2012. Baseline information on agricultural practices in the EU Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.). Available at: http://www.europabio.org/baseline-information-agricultural-practices-eu-soybean-glycine-max-l-merr [Accessed May 2014]. Vollmann J., C. Fritz, H. Wagentristi H., P. Ruckenbauer 2000. Environmental and genetic variation of soybean seed protein content under Central European growing conditions. J. Sci. Food Agric., 80: 1300-1306.