LIU Hong-ying, ZHANG Hong, LI Jian-ren, MA Yu-yong, LIU Si-si

HengYang Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Hengyang 421101, PRC

Abstract By comparing and analyzing the growth period, agronomic traits and yield results of the four exotic soybean varieties planted in Hengyang from 2017 to 2018, it is concluded that the growth period of the four varieties in Hengyang is 92.5～95.5 d which belong to mid-mature varieties and is not much different from the original places’ growth period. The yield and agronomic traits of Gandou 10 is the highest among the four varieties. The average yield of Gandou 10 is 2 833.5 kg/hm2 with an increase of 10.7% compared to the local main variety Xiangchundou 24, and an increase of 9.6% compared to the original place Nanchang, Jiangxi Province. The number of effective pods per plant, grain number per plant, grain weight per plant, and 100-grain weight of Gandou 10 are higher than that of Nanchang, Jiangxi Province.

Key words Exotic soybean varieties; Planted in Hengyang; Growth period; Yield

1. Introduction

Soybean is one of the major crops planted in Hunan Province. Hengyang is located in the Hengyang-Shaoyang Basin in the centralsouthern region of Hunan Province. 56% of Hengyang’s cultivated area are distributed in hilly downlands. Farmers tend to plant soybeans in areas with poor irrigation and drainage conditions. The annual planting of soybean in Hengyang is about 25 000 hm2[1]. Based on the climate characteristics of Hengyang, four spring-sown soybean varieties involved in the regional test of Yangtze River Basin were planted in Hengyang and in the original places respectively from 2017 to 2018. By comparing and analyzing the growth period, agronomic traits and yield results of these four exotic soybean varieties[2-4], the study aims to screen out a suitable soybean variety for planting in Hengyang climate condition and provide reference for the scientific introduction of the soybean variety as well.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Test site

Test site: test base of Hengyang Academy of Agricultural Sciences; test soil: red earth; site condition: flat land with convenient irrigation and drainage; previous crop: rice; fertility level: above-average.

2.2. Test varieties

Test varieties were spring-sown soybean varieties involved in the regional test of Yangtze River Basin during 2017—2018, which were Zhongdou 4601, Tianlong 1, Gandou 10, and Nanchundou 31. The local main variety Xiangchundou 24 in Hengyang was taken as the control group. The test varieties and providers are shown as Table 1.

2.3. Field test design

The test varieties were planted in Hengyang and original places respectively according to the regional test plan of spring-sown soybean varieties in Yangtze River Basin. Randomized block design was adopted, with three times of repetition. 12 guard rows were set around the test site; the block size was 16.8 m2; each block contained 12 rows; the length of each row was 3.5 m; the row spacing, plant spacing and density were 0.4 m, 0.1 m and 250 000/hm2, respectively. During the harvest time, the side plants were cut away, and the middle 10 rows were harvested. The planned production row length was 2.5 m, and the actual planned production area was 10 m2.

The growth period and the occurrence of pests and diseases of the four varieties during the growth stage were recorded; their agronomic traits and production statistics were investigated; and the data was analyzed.

3. Results and Analysis

3.1. Analysis of growth period

As shown in Table 2, the average growth period of the four varieties planted for two years in Hengyang was not much different from the original places’ growth period, which all belonged to midmature varieties, with only Zhongdou 4601 presented an extension, the growth period of which in Hengyang was 2 d longer than that in the original place; while the growth periods of Tianlong 1, Gandou 10 and Nanchundou 31 in Hengyang were 0.5, 1 and 3.5 d shorter than those of the original places. The growth period of the four varieties in Hengyang was also not much different from the control variety of Xiangchundou 24. The variety with the largest difference was Zhongdou 4601, the growth period of which was 5 d longer than that of Xiangchundou 24, and the growth period of other varieties was 2～2.5 d longer than that of Xiangchundou 24.

Table 2 The average growth period of the tested varieties from 2017 to 2018

3.2. Analysis of agronomic traits

According to Table 3, the plant height of the four varieties ranged in 43.8～56.5 cm, and the bottom pod height ranged in 6.2～17.7 cm, which were both appropriate; the effective pods per plant and grain number per plant of Zhongdou 4601 were higher than those of the original places, whereas its effective branches, grain weight per plant and 100-grain weight were all lower than those of the original places; the effective pods per plant, grain number per plant, effective branches, 100-grain weight, and grain weight per plant of Tianlong 1 and Nanchundou 31 were all lower than those of the original places; the effective branches, effective pods per plant, grain number per plant, grain weight per plant, and 100-grain weight of Gandou 10 were higher than those of the original places. Compared with the control variety of Xiangchundou 24, the exotic soybean varieties of Tianlong 1 and Gandou 10 had higher numbers of main stem nodes; Gandou 10 had higher effective pods per plant, grain number per plant and grain weight per plant; Zhongdou 4601 and Nanchundou 31 had higher 100-grain weight; and Gandou 10 presented the best agronomic traits (Table 3).

3.3. Yield analysis

According to Table 4, the average yield of Zhongdou 4601, Tianlong 1 and Nanchundou 31 showed a decrease of 13.9%～22.1% compared to those of their original places, and only Gandou 10 showed an increase of 9.6% in average yield over the original place; the average yield of Gandou 10 in the two years was 2 833.5 kg/hm2with an increase of 10.7% compared to the local main variety Xiangchundou 24, the highest in both 2017 and 2018 compared with other varieties; other three exotic soybeans had a certain decrease in average yield compared with Xiangchundou 24 with a decrease of 4.6%～6.9%. Therefore, Gandou 10 gained a high and stable yield in Hengyang.

4. Conclusion and Discussion

The test results showed that the growth period of Zhongdou 4601, Tianlong 1, Gandou 10 and Nanchundou 31 planted for two years in Hengyang was not much different from the original places’ growth period. All of them belong to mid-mature varieties, with only Zhongdou 4601 presented 2 d longer period than that of the original place of Hubei, while other three varieties had similar results which decreased 0.5, 1 and 3.5 d compared with the original places. The reason for the small difference in growth period between the soybeans planted in the two places might be that the four exotic soybean varieties originated from Hubei, Jiangxi and Sichuan, these provinces are adjacent to Hunan with similar climates[5-6]. When planted in other places, the changes of soybean’s agronomic traits, such as the number ofmain stem nodes, effective branches, effective pods per plant, grain number per plant, grain weight per plant and 100-grain weight, can reflect the ecological adaptability of the soybean variety. In the case of appropriate plant height and bottom pod height, the higher the other traits, the better the yield of the soybean[7-8]. The study also indicated that only Gandou 10 of the four exotic soybean varieties showed higher effective branches, effective pods per plant, grain number per plant, grain weight per plant and 100-grain weight than those of the original places, and Gandou 10 also presented the highest yield with an increase of 10.7% compared to Xiangchundou 24 owing to its good agronomic traits; other three varieties had a decrease of 4.6%～6.9% compared with the control group. Therefore, Gandou 10 was suitable to plant in Hengyang due to its good adaptability, high yield and stable performance.

Table 3 Average values of various agronomic traits of the tested varieties from 2017 to 2018

Table 4 Yield results of the tested varieties from 2017 to 2018