Soybean phenology dataset for determining soybean growth stages

This database compiles soybean phenology data to address significant variations in soybean adaptation and development caused by genetic improvements and regional climatic differences. The dataset includes growth staging information collected from field experiments conducted across 11 location-years in Arkansas, Minnesota, Ohio, Virginia, and Wisconsin (USA) during 2017 and 2018. It incorporates data from commercial soybean varieties spanning maturity groups 0 to 7.5. Growth stages were determined using Fehr and Caviness (1977) approach. This dataset is intended as a resource for the scientific community, students, and stakeholders, providing soybean phenological data to improve predictions and decision-making in areas such as input timing, yield estimation, irrigation management, cultivar selection, and phenotyping.

Methods
This study examined changes in soybean phenology to determine growth stages, focusing on the influence of genetic improvements and regional climatic differences. The dataset includes data from field experiments conducted across 11 location-years in Arkansas, Minnesota, Ohio, Virginia, and Wisconsin (USA) during 2017 and 2018. The experiments followed a randomized complete block split-plot design with four replications. The commercial soybean varieties planted across these location-years ranged from maturity group 0 to 7.5. This dataset contains soybean phenology data assessed using the Fehr and Caviness (1977) approach. For that, we collected daily (minimum of three times per week) growth staging, plant growth characteristics (e.g., number of nodes), grain yield, and composition.