Field trials · China
Soybean in China: 11% more yield with a super-absorbent
In summer, when soybean is sown, Shandong is hot with high evaporation. The trial measured the effect of the super-absorbent placed in the sowing line on emergence, vigour, yield and income.
Read the full report (PDF)Results
What the trial measured
+11,2 à 11,4 %yield
2 joursfaster emergence
+6,2 à 6,6 %germination rate
+19 à 20 kgof soybean per acre
In pictures
Before and after: the measured difference
Without super-absorbent100
With super-absorbent111,2 à 111,4
How it works
The water stays where the plant needs it
Mixed into the soil near the roots, the water retainer fills up at every watering or rainfall instead of letting the water evaporate or drain away. It then hands the water back to the plant, day after day. You water less often, and the plant never goes thirsty between two waterings.
Trial sheet
Where, when, by whom
- Crop : Soybean (Ludou II variety)
- Place : Taian, Shandong province, China
- Period : June – October 2017
- Run by : Shandong Soil and Fertiliser Institute, with Summit Enterprise
- Products : EVERGREEN super-absorbent polymer
Method
How the trial was run
- Randomised blocks: 30 m² plots, each treatment repeated 4 times.
- The same fertilisation on every plot: compound fertiliser and compost in the sowing line.
- Three treatments: control without super-absorbent, 1.6 kg and 2 kg of super-absorbent per 30 m² plot.
Observations
What to remember
- The yield increase reaches a statistically significant level.
- Income gain of 62.9 to 66.1 yuan per acre compared with the control.
Other trials
The same products, on other crops
- Date palms in the Emirates: 82% less irrigation water
- Watermelons in Mexico: 60.5% less water and 30% more harvest
- Cotton in Turkey: yield almost doubled under water stress
- Maize in Turkey: 39% less water and 17% more yield
- Sugarcane in Java: 55% more harvest with EVERGREEN and ECOFERT
- Potatoes in South Africa: 31% more yield, 52% less water