Ames, Iowa, USA
November 10, 2023
An Iowa State University Seed Science Center researcher has received back-to-back grants totaling close to $225,000 from the Iowa Soybean Research Center. Dr. Silvina Arias will use the funding to study two completely different issues with soybeans in an effort to promote sustainable and resilient cropping systems.
The first project aims to expand soybean production and potentially increase the economic returns to Iowa farmers and industry leaders by changing how they use existing cropland. The idea is to intercrop soybeans with winter small grains and oilseeds, such as canola, to take advantage of Iowa’s six-month fallow period.
“The benefits include increased land use efficiency, better pest and weed control, soil fertility, and enhancement of overall crop productivity relative to conventional crop monocultures,” said Arias, adjunct plant pathology professor. “This will allow Iowa farmers to implement an ‘eco continuous soybean system’ instead of corn-soybean rotations.”
Co-investigators on this project include Leonor Leandro, professor of plant pathology, entomology and microbiology, and Mark Licht, associate professor of Agronomy.
The second project will look at characterizing soybean gene expression when plants are infected with the pathogen F. graminearum grow in soil with low iron availability. Arias expects this research will help with the development of new ways to broaden the resistance of the seeds to this disease and iron deficiency.
“The findings generated will be useful for determining environmental conditions and stress factors on the epidemiology of soilborne pathogens that affect seedlings and taking steps toward identifying effective management,” Arias said.
Arias is collaborating on this research with Jamie O’Rourke, a research geneticist in the ISU Agronomy Department.
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