Growers base product selections on a variety of things, plot results, product resources, on farm performance, etc. Information from their sales account manager and technical team agronomist are also helpful. As we look at the product resources, some growers might find the characteristic of “salt excluder” and might wonder what this means to them and their operation.

Agronomics for soybeans are something a lot of us are familiar with; stature, bushiness, disease profile, etc. But salt excluder might be a new term to us, and one might wonder where it would come to be of importance. The salt excluder, or chloride excluder, characteristic is helpful in areas where there are higher pH soils and soils with higher amounts of salt. These areas are usually found in southern environments, or areas with heavy irrigation. The salt excluder characteristic does not present itself with any yield drags, but rather an added benefit to the variety.

The characteristic in the soybean works by secreting the chloride or salt back out of the root cells and into the soil profile which helps them tolerate the higher salt levels present. This keeps most of the chloride out of the xylem stream of the plant. If salt is taken up by a soybean without this characteristic, it would enter the xylem stream and make its way to the leaves and the newest growth to cause burning, stunting, and ultimately yield reduction if salt concentrations are high enough.

Varieties that we find with the “salt excluder” characteristic in are typically the later maturing soybean varieties since the south is where we find the most issues. Irrigated acres in the Corn Belt typically do not see enough salt exposure to present a problem. LG Seeds C3010RX has shown tolerance in salt environments, and LG Seeds LGS3357RX, C4615RX, C4845RX, and LGS4916RX are all excluders for salts. If you have questions regarding salt excluder soybeans, please contact your local Sales Account Manager or Technical Team Agronomist for regionalized expertise.

Sources and additional information:

ILSoy Advisor

Download a copy of this technical bulletin here: Salt Excluders in Soybeans