Seed Yield, Seed Protein, Oil Content, and Agronomic Characteristics of Soybean (Glycine max L. Merrill) Depending on Different Seeding Systems and Cultivars in Germany
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Overall this is a well written manuscript that carefully evaluates the effects of different seeding systems on yield, seed protein and oil content, and phenotypic properties of soybean. I have a few concerns mainly surrounding wording and flow of different parts of the manuscript but think it is a good addition to the scientific literature and good information for German soybean growers. My specific comments are as follows:
Ln 11-23 consider adding the plant phenotypic results to the abstract. As overall seeding system had no effect on any of these parameters it could probably be accomplished with one more sentence and then adding that to the objective statement on Ln 13-14 as well.
Ln 11-13 and Ln 74-75 - The objective statements in the abstract and at the end of the introduction do not match. Plant phenotypic results are not mentioned in the abstract and seed measurements are referred to as seed protein and oil content in the abstract whereas they are referred to as seed ingredients in the objective statement at the end of the introduction. Ensuring the objective statement reads the same in all locations will prevent any possible confusion among readers.
Ln 41-43 - Citations 7 & 8 appear to be out of order. Citation 8 is mentioned first in the paper on Ln 41 and citation 7 is mentioned on Ln 43.
Ln 78 - remove the word "is" at the beginning of the sentence.
Ln 82 - awkward sentence when reading, consider splitting into two sentences. Possibly: "Trials were conducted at two locations of the Saaten Union GmbH research station in 2017 and 2018. The two locations were Grunseiboldsdorf (lat and long) and Landshut (lat and long) in East Bavaria Germany."
Ln 95 - think it would be more beneficial to give plot size in width by length measurements instead of in m2.
Ln 92 & 97 - Table 1 is spelled out at both mentions in the text and the remaining Tables are abbreviated Tab. If abbreviation of Table is allowed by the journal's style guide I would suggest picking one style (abbreviated or not) for clarity.
Ln 101-103 - consider adding the citations for the different seeder's manufacturers for those readers unfamiliar with the exact models.
Ln 262-264 - consider expanding on the conclusions section. Only the data for yield and seed properties are summarized. I would suggest restating the objectives sentence again at the beginning of the conclusions and then summarizing the results of seeding system, not cultivar and other factors, on each component, yield, seed ingredients, and plant phenotypic properties. Also, when you mention seed ingredients in the conclusion they are called seed properties which is the third name used to describe the variable. For clarity decide on one terminology and maintain that terminology throughout the manuscript.
In a few places in the discussion the authors switch between using the terms soybean, soya, and soy. I would suggest using soybean in all mentions for continuity throughout the manuscript.
Ln 294 - citation number is loft of off the reference list.
Ln 305 - did not find reference number 14 in the manuscript, possible that I could have overlooked the reference. Double check if it is present, if not add it to the manuscript or remove it from reference list.
Author Response
Dear reviewer, thank you very much for your time, which you took to make the valuable professional comments and remarks.
The English check was carried out by an English-speaking colleague from the USA, who completed her PhD in Agronomy at the University of Hohenheim.
We will reply to your comments afterwards in red marked text.
Author Response File: 
Author Response.docx
Reviewer 2 Report
The only abstract requires to be corrected. The final conlusion is not related to the study.
Author Response
Dear reviewer, thank you very much for your time, which you took to make the valuable professional comments and remarks.
The English check was carried out by an English-speaking colleague from the USA, who completed her PhD in Agronomy at the University of Hohenheim.
We will reply to your comments afterwards in red marked text.
Author Response File: Author Response.docx
Reviewer 3 Report
Manuscript (Agronomy-854964): Grain yield, seed protein, oil content, and agronomic characteristics of soybean (Glycine max L. Merrill) depending on different seeding systems and cultivars in Germany.
The article assessed the effect of two seeding systems and four early mature cultivars (two 00 and two 000) in four site-years. I consider that the manuscript is not suitable for publication in its current state. I based my decision on:
- In my opinion, the topic is not novel, or at least, the authors did not mention why they expected different results from the ones previously observed in other countries as USA, India, and Russia (L. 199-200). This needs to be clarified in the introduction. Also, it is not clear why the think seed composition (protein and oil) and nodulation will vary between seeding systems.
- No attempt was made to understand the temporal and spatial variability of soybean plants, which is something they think could change between seeding systems. (See as an example Masino et al., 2018: Spatial and temporal plant-to-plant variability effects on soybean yield).
- Part of the discussion is based on the cultivars used, making the results only valid for the cultivars and growing conditions prevalent in Germany. Is it possible to extrapolate the results to other countries?
- I think differences between systems could be observed with lower densities. I suggest supporting the seeding rate used with international references using early mature cultivars.
- No attempts were made to relate variables of interest as seed yield, protein, and oil with the phenotypic properties tested.
- You mentioned in the discussion differences between treatments when there were no significant differences based on the Tables and results section (see attached file).
- Minor comments are mentioned in the attached file.
Author Response
Dear reviewer, thank you very much for your time, which you took to make the valuable professional comments and remarks.
The English check was carried out by an English-speaking colleague from the USA, who completed her PhD in Agronomy at the University of Hohenheim.
We will reply to your comments afterwards in red marked text.
Author Response File: Author Response.docx
Round 2
Reviewer 3 Report
Please, pay attention that for soybean should be seed yield instead of grain yield. Also, most of the manuscripts in the topic refer to seed compositions instead of seed ingredients. Please, check both terms.
Author Response
Dear reviewer, thank you very much for the comments.
Author Response File: Author Response.docx
