Environmental Effects on Soybean (Glycine Max (L.) Merr) Production in Central and South Germany

Abstract

The cultivation area of soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr) is increasing in Germany as a way to ensure self-sufficiency through its use as feed and food. However, climatic conditions needed for soybean cultivation are not appropriate in all parts of the country. The objective of this study was to determine the influence of solar radiation, temperature, and precipitation on soybean seed productivity and quality in central and south Germany. A multi-factorial field trial was carried out with three replicates at four locations in 2016 and five locations in 2017, testing 13 soybean varieties from the maturity groups MG 00 and MG 000. Considering all the tested factors, “variety” was highly significant concerning protein content (Ø 41.1% dry matter (DM)) and oil content (Ø 19.1% in DM), but not seed yield (Ø 40.5 dt ha−1).The broad sense heritability of protein content was H2 = 0.80 and of oil content H2 = 0.7. Protein and oil content were significantly negatively correlated (r = −0.82). Seed yield was significantly positively correlated with solar radiation (r = 0.32) and precipitation (r = 0.33), but significantly negatively with Crop Heat Units (CHU) (r = −0.42). Over both experimental years, varieties from maturity group MG 00 were less significantly correlated with the tested environmental factors than varieties from maturity group MG 000. None of the environmental factors tested significantly increased the protein or oil content of soybean. In growing areas with heat periods during ripening, protein content tended to be higher than in cooler areas; in areas with high solar radiation during flowering, protein content tended to be reduced.

Effect of soybean cultivars sowing dates on seed yield and its correlation with yield parameters

“…Mandic et al (2017) reported the soybean seed yield is significantly positively correlated with the rainfall in May, July and August, whereas Bosnjak (2004) recorded a very high correlation between the seed yield and the total rainfall throughout the soybean vegetation period. Also, Sobko et al (2020) recorded a positive correlation between the seed yield and the rainfall over flowering -seed filling and maturing when the soybean plants are especially sensitive to water deficit.…”

The Influence of Seed Production Environment on Seed Development and Quality of Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill)

“…The seed development process is determined by both the genetics and the environmental factors including soil fertility, water, temperature, day length, relative humidity, and rainfall [5][6][7][8]. Water deficit condition during plant growth and development leads to reduced plant metabolism and seed development due to reduced photosynthetic rate, assimilate production and translocation to the developing seeds [7,9,10]. It was reported that an increase in temperature (>35 • C) may decrease seed mass because of the higher growth rate and reduced seed filling duration, while low temperatures (<15-17 • C) retard seed growth [5,7,11].…”

Protein, Amino Acid, Oil, Fatty Acid, Sugar, Anthocyanin, Isoflavone, Lutein, and Antioxidant Variations in Colored Seed-Coated Soybeans

“…Slight variations were found in other studies viz., 16.8−24.9% [ 36 ], 15.7−17.2% [ 42 ], 15.4−22.0% [ 37 ], and 14.2−22.8% [ 38 ]. The highest and lowest oil contents in the genotypes of lowest and highest protein content might be due to a negative correlation between protein and oil content in soybean [ 36 , 38 , 43 ]. The ranges of concentration of palmitic, stearic, oleic, linoleic, and linolenic acids were very close to that found in previous studies of soybean cultivars grown in Korea [ 44 , 45 ].…”