Virginia Soybean Association

• Integrating genomic and multimodal phenomic prediction to enhance soybean breeding strategies
• Development of improved soybean varieties and germplasm adapted to Virginia
• Developing biocontrol consortia for enhanced soybean productivity and resilience against root-knot
• Validating in-season potassium management opportunities in Virginia soybean

• Variety development for Virginia’s environmental conditions
• Nematode management
• Yield improvement
• Enhanced environmental practices

• Soybean weed management
  This project evaluates soybean weed management, primarily focusing on herbicide resistant weed suppression through cover crops and different termination methods.
• Evaluating soybean varieties for isoflavone health bioactive components
  Soybeans and soybean by-products are frequently found in human and animal diets. Soybeans contain non-nutrient compounds like isoflavones that are beneficial to health. This project seeks to improve the soybean isoflavone profile that would profit soybean producers, including developing value-added soybean varieties with high isoflavone content.
• Development of high protein soybean cultivars
  Conventional soybean cultivars generally have protein values between 38 and 42% on a dry weight basis in the seed. Increasing soybean seed protein content is a primary breeding goal. This project aims to identify new high protein and oil genes and associated DNA markers to use in breeding programs to facilitate the development of soybean cultivars for domestic and export markets and improve the profitability of U.S. soybean producers.
• Single spray, commercial applications for threecornered alfalfa hopper control
  This project looks to validate the benefits, if any, of spraying a single insecticide application on threecornered alfalfa hoppers in soybeans. The project will use sampling plans to determine landscape and field factors driving variability between infestations.

Virginia collaborated with several states throughout the country to evaluate how soybeans respond to sulfur and other micronutrients. A series of plots across the Coastal Plain region of Virginia identified yield and economic responses to these fertilizer applications. The resulting state-specific and combined data will provide the foundation for extension services to provide sound recommendations to Virginia farmers.