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The NDSU Extension weekly podcast In the Pod: Soybean Updates delivers timely insights and expert advice on soybean production.
You're listening to In The Pod, Soybean Updates, a weekly trek into the latest soybean information from NDSU Extension. Growing soybeans comes with risks. The plants have to endure the weather, insects, disease. But what about the wildfire smoke? Ana Carcedo, NDSU Extension Agronomist, has some answers. Ana, what's going on with the soybeans right now?
Ana Carcedo:Over the past several weeks, many of us have noticed hazy skies and poor air quality caused by the wildfire smoke drifting from Canada. Naturally, one of the questions I've been getting is what does alty smoke mean for crops? The good news is that based on what we know that's mostly comes from California is that wildfire smoke, it's unlikely to cause major yield losses in most of our fields.
Bruce Sundeen:How are soybeans impacted by the excess smoke?
Ana Carcedo:The first thing smoke changes is sunlight. Plants depend on sunlight for photosynthesis, which is how they produce the energy needed to grow on field grain and seeds. When Wildfire Smoke blocks the sun, less direct sunlight reaches the crop canopy. At first glance, that sounds like bad news. Right? And in some ways, it is because there is simply less energy available. However, there is another side of this story. Smoke scatters sunlight making it more diffuse. Instead of coming straight down, light is spread through the canopy allowing leaves lowers in the canopy to receive more light than they normally would. In some situations, plants can actually use this diffused light more efficiently. So that's something different that sometimes we don't think about it. Another interesting effect of wildfire smoke is the influence that it has on temperature. Because the smoke blocks part of the incoming solar radiation, temperatures may actually be a little bit cooler. So it might even help with the heat wave that we are experiencing.
Bruce Sundeen:Ana, generally, doesn't less sun mean less growth?
Ana Carcedo:So it is not simply a matter of smoke equals less growth. The overall effect depends on how much sunlight is reduced and how long these smoky conditions last. Fortunately, studies from previous wildfire events suggest that the reduction in available sunlight has often been relatively small. So for example, during a prolonged wildfire event in California, researchers measured that only 4%, only 4% reduction in the light available for photosynthesis, so it was not that much. Another important factor is which crop you are growing. Corn, for example, tends to be a little bit more sensitive to reduce sunlight because it's a C4 crop. Wild soybeans, dry beans, canola, wheat are C3 crops, generally tolerate these conditions way better.
Bruce Sundeen:Does the impact of soybeans vary depending on the growth stage?
Ana Carcedo:Timing also matters. If smoky conditions occur during the early vegetative stages, crop usually have plenty of time to recover. This is not the case right now. But for example, when we are talking about soybeans, reduced sunlight become more concerning during seed filling. So we are not dead yet or most of our soybeans are just starting to bloom or mid bloom around those stages. When the plant is filling the pots, that's the moment that we should consider more critical for the sunlight.
Bruce Sundeen:Ana, is the smoke itself toxic to the plants?
Ana Carcedo:Wildfire smoke contains several pollutants, including tiny particles and gases like ozone. Ground level ozone can damage plant tissues because it enters the leaves and causes oxidative stress. The reassured news is that under the smoke conditions that we are experiencing across most of North Dakota, ozone concentrations have generally not been high enough or present long enough to cause measurable damage on our crops.
Bruce Sundeen:Thanks, Ana. Our guest has been Ana Carcedo, NDSU Extension agronomist. You're listening to In the Pod, Soybean Updates, a weekly trek into the latest soybean information from NDSU Extension supported by the North Dakota Soybean Council.