Soybean Production and the Soil Erosion Problems and Solutions–South America

Rainfall erosion has been serious and is greatly increasing in the major soybean production areas of South America. The potential for rainfall erosion in these soybean production areas, as expressed by the R factor of the Universal Soil Loss Equation, can be regarded to be great. The susceptibility of soils to erosion in these areas, as expressed by the K factor of the Universal Soil Loss Equation, varies greatly. Doubtless, tillage methods presently used for soybean production in South America represent one of the principal causes for erosion exceeding tolerable limits. In the majority of the production areas, soybean traditionally has been planted using clean-tillage methods. In many places, soybean has traditionally been planted following wheat, in a continuous double-cropping sequence.