Leaf Yellowing in Soybean

• Yellowish soybean leaves can be caused by several factors including soil pH, nutrient deficiencies, restricted roots, diseases, herbicides, and soybean cyst nematode.
• Depending on the cause for the yellowing, the affect on crop yield can be negligible to potentially great.
• Management can include soil testing to reduce nutrient deficiency potential, foliar application of nutrients, reduction of compaction, and use of disease-resistant soybean products.

What to Watch For

Throughout a soybean plant’s life, except for natural maturity, its leaves can become yellow for various reasons. The most common cause is a nutrient deficiency. Other common causes are compaction, which can restrict nutrient uptake by the roots (Figure 1), soybean cyst nematode infestations, diseases, and a phenomenon called “yellow flash” caused by a high application rate of glyphosate.

Nitrogen Deficiency

Nitrogen deficiency can occur in soybeans planted into fields that have been extremely dry or that have been saturated for an extended period of time. These conditions not only slow soybean root development, limiting access to nitrates in the soil, but can also reduce populations of the rhizobia bacteria that live in the soil and in soybean nodules, which provide up to 50% of the N needed by soybeans.¹ Soybean leaves can appear light green in color during the time that nodules are forming due to a lack of sufficient N (Figure 1).

Management options: Once the nodules begin producing adequate amounts of N, the normal dark-green color should return. If soybeans fail to nodulate properly, as can occur in fields with insufficient populations of rhizobial bacteria, a rescue N application may help preserve yield potential.

Iron (Fe) is necessary for photosynthesis, nodule formation, and many metabolic processes within the plant. The distinctive symptom of iron deficiency is yellowing of the leaves while the veins remain green (interveinal chlorosis; Figure 2), which is the result of low chlorophyll formation. Iron deficiency symptoms typically appear on the uppermost, youngest leaves between the first and third trifoliate growth stages. This condition is referred to as iron deficiency chlorosis (IDC).

Iron deficiency most commonly occurs when iron in the soil is tied up due to high soil pH, and not simply due to low iron levels in the soil. IDC is often associated with shallow depressions in a field or low-lying areas where water 

Management options: The most important management option is the use of soybean products with tolerance to IDC. Iron chelate products that carry the ortho-ortho-EDDHA Fe chelate form can be applied in-furrow at seeding in affected areas of the field to improve the plant’s access to iron in the soil.²

For more information refer tp the Agronomic Spotlight - ​Iron Deficiency Chlorosis in Soybean​.

A phenomenon called “yellow flash” can sometimes occur after a post-emergence application of a high rate of glyphosate under dry conditions. Symptoms of yellow flash are yellowing of the newest leaves at the top of the plant while older leaves remain green and can sometimes look similar to Mn deficiency (Figure 3). Yellow flash generally occurs on plants that were already stressed (temperature or drought) when the glyphosate was applied and may be more common at the edges of fields and/or in spray-overlapped areas where application rates were two to three times the intended rate.

Management options: Affected soybean leaves generally return to their normal color within a week after the application with little, if any, growth reduction. If the soybean plants were not properly growing due to stressful conditions when glyphosate was applied, yellowing may not occur until 10 to 21 days later. If it was dry when yellowing occurred, these leaves may remain yellow until the crop resumes growth after rain or irrigation.

Potassium (K) deficiencies can occur due to restricted root growth or insufficient K levels in the soil. Potassium is mobile in the plant and deficiencies will first appear as yellowing along the edges of the oldest leaves (Figure 4). This condition can intensify and spread up the plant as the deficiency worsens. With severe deficiencies, the leaf edges may become brown and affected plants will appear stunted.

Management options: If the deficiency is due to inadequate K levels in the soil, a rescue application by broadcasting potassium chloride (potash, 0-0-60) with sufficient irrigation to move the fertilizer into the soil may help protect yield potential.³

The common symptoms of an SCN infestation are yellowed leaves and stunted plants. The symptoms occur because the damaged roots are unable to access nutrients and have a decreased ability to tolerate heat and drought stress.

Sources:

¹Franzen, D.W. 2013. Soybean soil fertility. SF1164. North Dakota State University Extension. www.ag.ndsu.edu/.

²Mallarino, A.P. 2006. Potassium deficiency symptoms in corn and soybean: What can we do about them? Iowa State University. www.ipm.iastate.edu/.

Other sources: Pedersen, P. 2007. Soybean nutrient requirements. Iowa State University Extension. http://extension.agron.iastate.edu/.

Staton, M. 2014. Identifying and correcting manga-nese deficiency in soybeans. Michigan State University Extension. http://msue.anr.msu.edu/.

Kaiser, D.E., Lamb, J.A., and Bloom, P.R. 2011. Managing iron deficiency chlorosis in soybean. University of Minnesota Extension. www.extension.umn.edu/.

Rosenbloom, K. 2012. Possible causes of yellow soybeans. http://www.agprofessional.com/.

Web sources verified 2/15/2018

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