[Scene opens with a shot of young soybean rows with the Soy Masters badge and "Field Notes" overlaid on it. Drum and guitar music plays in the background. The text "Managing Iron Deficiency Chlorosis" shows. Scene switches to Dr. Jeff Schoenau (Professor of Soil Fertility, University of Saskatchewan) in a hotel lobby, speaking to camera.]
JEFF: Iron deficiency chlorosis is a condition in soybean that is brought about by a deficiency of iron. And soybeans, as a plant, tend to be pretty inefficient users of iron. There are genetics out there that result in some varieties of soybean being iron deficiency chlorosis sensitive, and other varieties that are iron deficiency tolerant. And that's a good thing to check out if you suspect that there's a potential for iron deficiency chlorosis, a lack of iron in the soybean plant, to show up on the soybeans on your own farm.
[Scene switches to show close-up photos of a soybean plant with iron deficiency chlorosis. There are noticeable brown spots on the leaves, which are fairly yellow.]
JEFF: Iron deficiency chlorosis is quite easily visually detected. It produces rather marked yellowing of the tops of the soybean, especially in between the veins. And it can be associated with significant yield decreases, under some circumstances, especially on varieties that are not iron deficient tolerant.
[Scene switches back to Jeff in the hotel lobby, speaking to the camera.]
JEFF: We did some research work at one site in southern Saskatchewan, and for iron deficiency chlorosis to manifest itself, it takes a fairly unique set of soil and environmental conditions. Typically, iron deficiency chlorosis is seen on lower landscape positions that may experience some flooding.
[Scene shows a top-down view on soybean plants with iron deficiency chlorosis.]
JEFF: So that tends to aggravate iron deficiency chlorosis onset. Higher pH, a little bit of salinity, high nitrate content.
[Scene switches back to Jeff in the hotel lobby, speaking to the camera.]
JEFF: Those are all the kinds of conditions that can aggravate or increase the potential onset of iron deficiency chlorosis. In our research work, we had one site where we had iron deficiency chlorosis tolerant and iron deficiency chlorosis resistant varieties. And we had different forms and methods of application, and rates of iron fertilizer that we applied in our research work.
[Scene shows a pan across very dry soil, then switches to a pan across rows of young soybeans.]
JEFF: 2015 was a very dry year, and despite having all the soil conditions that are conducive to iron deficiency chlorosis, we didn't see any response to iron fertilization or any difference amongst the varieties.
[Scene switches back to Jeff in the hotel lobby, speaking to the camera.]
JEFF: But 2016 was a little bit different. In addition to the soil conditions, we had a period of flooding in June because of heavy rains, and there we saw iron deficiency chlorosis show up. The iron deficiency chlorosis tolerant variety did not respond to the iron fertilization, but we did see the iron deficiency chlorosis sensitive variety respond to foliar application of iron. So probably your best defense against IDC, if you're concerned about it, is to select the variety that has the genetics that imparts the tolerance to it.
[Scene switches to show rows of young soybean plants, then goes back to Jeff in the hotel lobby, speaking to the camera.]
JEFF: But as a rescue treatment? St least based on our work, which I caution is only one site, one year, seemed to indicate that the application of foliar iron might be a suitable rescue treatment.
[Scene changes to a shot of young soybean rows. The screen then goes white with the Soy Masters badge. Guitar music plays in the background.]