Double-cropped soybean response to various wheat stubble managements

Varying responses to wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) stubble management preceding double-crop soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] have been reported; however, little work has been done in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The objectives of this study were to observe the effects of wheat stubble management (WSM) on physiological growth and yield characteristics for double-cropped glyphosate-resistant soybean, evaluate the impacts of WSM on soil moisture retention and soil surface shading, monitor weed response characteristics, and perform a simple economic analysis comparing the four stubble management treatments. During 2003 and 2004, four WSM treatments were evaluated at two locations in a randomized complete block design with four replications. The WSM treatments were: wheat cut at a height resulting in stubble height of 15 cm with straw removed (baling), wheat cut for stubble height of 15 cm with straw returned to the plot, wheat cut for stubble height of 7.5 cm and straw returned to the plot by mowing with a rotary mower following soybean planting, and wheat cut for stubble height of 30 cm straw returned to the plot. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...