Effect of Fertility on the Carbohydrate-nitrogen Relation in the Soybean.

Introduction In connection with a study of the cause of lodging in soybeans as grown in corn for silage it was found that the shading by the corn resulted in a reduction of the percentage of carbohydrates and total dry matter, and that the stems of soybeans thus developed were relatively soft, pliable, and weak. In cereals like oats and wheat a similar situation in the stems with consequent lodging has been found to develop as a result not only of shading but also from hyper-nutrition. In the latter case, particularly in the presence of an abundance of nitrates accompanied by suitable moisture relations, there was set up within the oat and wheat plants a low carbohydratenitrogen relation characterized by a preponderance of vegetative growth, soft, pliable stems, and consequent lodging. Conversely, under relatively poor soil conditions there was developed a high carbohydrate-nitrogen relation characterized by a preponderance of reproductive growth, hard, rigid, stiff stems, and non-lodging.