SIU Research Tests Malting Barley Before Soybeans and More Efficient Wheat Nitrogen

Two Southern Illinois University Carbondale graduate researchers have received nearly $40,000 in Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education grants to expand field work on two practical crop-production questions: whether winter malting barley can improve double-crop soybean systems and how winter wheat nitrogen can be managed more efficiently.

Moein Javid received $19,806 to expand research comparing winter malting barley with winter wheat ahead of soybeans. Preliminary SIU work showed soybeans following winter malting barley yielded about 8% more than soybeans following winter wheat. That is an early result rather than a universal yield claim, and the new funding will move the work from university plots into cooperating commercial farm fields.

Why malting barley is being tested

The research case is based on timing, nitrogen demand and potential crop value. Javid says winter malting barley can require less nitrogen than winter wheat, can be harvested roughly two weeks earlier and may receive a higher market price. Earlier harvest could give double-crop soybeans more growing time, but profitability will also depend on barley quality, market access, price premiums and field performance.

The commercial-farm phase is important because research-station results do not automatically translate to different soils, weather, equipment and management systems. The project is intended to test whether the preliminary yield advantage remains meaningful under real production conditions.

A second project targets nitrogen efficiency in winter wheat

Sowmya Koduru received $19,644 to expand research on fertilizer timing, nitrification inhibitor rates and sulfur fertilisation in winter wheat. The project will measure soil nitrogen, nitrate loss, crop nutrient uptake, wheat yield, grain protein and economics under different management strategies.

Koduru began the field experiment at SIU’s Belleville Research Center in fall 2025. The grant will add a cooperating farmer’s field, allowing the treatments to be evaluated under different soil and drainage conditions. The objective is not simply to reduce nitrogen use, but to identify combinations that can maintain or improve yield and grain quality while reducing nitrogen loss and improving profitability.

Both projects are still research programmes rather than finished production recommendations. Their value lies in testing management choices that growers can eventually evaluate with agronomic and economic evidence. Results from the expanded commercial-field work will be more useful for deciding whether the practices deserve broader adoption.