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Defining the Seed‐filling Period in Soybeans to Predict Yield 1
Author(s) -
Nelson Randall L.
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
crop science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.76
H-Index - 147
eISSN - 1435-0653
pISSN - 0011-183X
DOI - 10.2135/cropsci1986.0011183x002600010031x
Subject(s) - biology , germplasm , loam , yield (engineering) , agronomy , horticulture , soil water , ecology , materials science , metallurgy
The duration of seed fill has been shown to be related to seed yield in soybean [ Glycine max (L.) Merr.]. However, several different growth stages have been used to delimit the seed‐filling period (SFP). This study was conducted to determine which growth stages delimit the SFP most highly correlated with yield. Twenty‐eight indeterminate accessions, 14 from each of Maturity Groups II and III, were selected from the USDA Soybean Germplasm Collection. These lines were selected for differences in length of SFP and similarities in other agronomic traits. Field experiments were grown in a Flanagan silt loam (Aquicarguidoll) and a Catlin silt loam (Typic Argiudoll) in 1980 and 1981, respectively. Data collected included the date of all reproductive (R) stages and seed yield. Genotypic and phenotypic correlation coefficients were determined for various reproductive or seedfilling periods and seed yield.Phenotypic correlation coefficients demonstrated a positive relationship between the duration of seed fill and seed yield but could not define the most appropriate seed‐filling period to predict yield. The genotypic correlations between various SFPs and seed yield provide evidence that supports the use of R4 or R5 as estimates of the beginning of seed fill and R7 as the termination. These data suggest that the currently defined R‐stages of soybean reproductive growth can provide reasonable estimates of the duration of seed fill and the seed‐filling periods so defined had a high correlation with seed yield among the lines in this experiment.