Photosensitivity of soybean accessions at different planting dates under the conditions of the foothill-steppe zone of the East Kazakhstan Region

Abstract

Currently, soybean is one of the most popular and cultivated leguminous crops in the world agriculture. To obtain greater effect when growing the crops and obtain high yields of high-quality soybeans, proven agricultural technology and varieties adapted to growing conditions are required. It should be taken into account that soybean is highly sensitive to day length during the growing season. As a result, a certain length of daylight hours is required for the onset of phenological phases of the crop. This feature of the crop allows plant breeders to develop varieties with different growing seasons specifically for the regions of their future growing. To develop such varieties, appropriate source material is required. The research goal is to identify the sources of characters of reduced photoperiodic sensitivity suitable for the breeding programs to develop soybean varieties with reduced sensitivity to day length. The research was carried out from 2015 through 2017; the nurseries were established at the field station of the East Kazakhstan Research Institute of Agriculture (TOO “VKNIISKh”). The responses of soybean lines to various photoperiods that occurred at different sowing dates were studied. The sources of characters of reduced photoperiodic sensitivity for the plant breeding programs were identified. Soybean accessions 371/2, 394, 379, 370, 460, SNK-294, SNK-182, SNK-285 and SNK-292 are neutral regarding photoperiods. The accession 210 is a photosensitive one. Accessions 371/2, 379, 370, SNK-294, SNK-292, SNK-182, and SNK-285 are promising sources for breeding photoperiodically neutral varieties; their transition to the reproductive stage does not depend on day length. The accessions combine photoneutrality and fairly high productivity.