Soybean: sources from the VIR collection of genetic resources

Abstract

Soybean is an extremely valuable crop due to its unique biochemical composition, which underpins multifunctional utilization of this crop and high profitability of its industrial and agricultural production. Soybean seeds accumulate up to 45% of high-quality vegetable protein, which is close in composition to the protein of animal origin. Soybean is also of great importance as an oil-producing crop, accumulating up to 28% of oil in its seeds. It is widely used in animal husbandry for the production of maize-soybean silage and haylage. It can also be used as a green manure crop to enrich the soil with nitrogen at the expense of nodule bacteria. High demand and the price make it a highly profitable agricultural crop. It is clear from the above-mentioned advantages that soybean is of great interest to breeders. The Kuban Experiment station of VIR conducts field studies of new soybean cultivars using the practices worked out for leguminous crops at VIR. Three years of research have resulted in identification of promising cultivars, sources and donors of various valuable traits. This article is based on the data obtained from the study of the soybean collection from 2014 to 2016. Accessions k-11385, k-11479, and i-623931 were distinguished for their high yield. The following accessions stood out for their seed productivity per plant: k-1475, k-11472, k-11535, k-11466, k-11478, k-11577, k-11467, and k-11469. The size of seeds was the best in accessions k-11489, k-11491, k-11533, k-11529, k-11537, i-623952, i-623967, i-623980, i-623958, and i-623987. Two accessions appeared noticeable for the height of lower pod attachment: i-623960 and k-11494. All selected accessions can be used in breeding programs as sources of valuable traits.