Nutrient Expert Soybean Validation Trial at Red and Lateritic Soil of Jharkhand

Soybean is one of the most promising crops in improving farmers' economic status in many parts of India. Soybean is also gaining popularity in eastern Indian states like Jharkhand. However, there is no modern and balanced nutrient recommendation protocol for soybean, especially for small and marginal farmers of eastern India.

The Nutrient Expert® (NE)– Soybean fertilizer decision support tool was co-developed with local partners to facilitate on-farm application of improved nutrient management practices. The NE-Soybean was validated on-farm in five different locations of the state of Jharkhand, India, where the NE-based fertilizer recommendations were compared with State Recommendation (SR) and Farmers' Fertilization Practices (FFP). The one year of on-farm trial data highlights that the NE® Soybean-based recommendations significantly improved the average soybean grain yield (4.5 t/ha) compared to that of FFP (2.8 t/ha) and SR (3.4 t/ha). This could be attributed to the balanced fertilizer application, as the average N and K₂O applications were significantly higher in the NE-based recommendations compared to that of FFP and SR, and better timing of fertilizer application. However, there was no significant change in P₂O₅ application.

The average net income improvement resulting from use of NE® Soybean was more than INR 40,000/ha (US$620 approximately) over FFP, and INR 25,000 ($390 approximately) over SR. Overall, NE® soybean produced higher soybean productivity through balanced fertilizer application along with better economics.