Drought Stress and Tolerance in Soybean

Index

Description

Refs

2. Whole-growth-stage

tolerance

Test should be carried out in field with precipitation less than

50mm. Seeds of each germplasm in each treatment are sown in

single row of 1.5 m. The control field is irrigated (7 times) to

maintain the field soil moisture. In the treatment field, irrigation is

only applied before sowing to ensure the germination of seeds.

Plant height, number of branching, number of pods per plant and

yield per plant of 10 plants are determined upon harvest. Drought

tolerance coefficients of each trait are calculated. Average of

coefficients (RI) of all traits will be used to rank the germplasm into

5 levels.

Level 1: RI > 0.6500

Level 2: RI between 0.5000-0.6500

Level 3: RI between 0.3500-0.5000

Level 4: RI <0.3500

Level 5: Plant died or cannot reproduce

[29]

Table 3. Common parameters for assessing drought tolerance of soybean cultivars.