Assessment of soybean test weight among genotypes, environments, agronomic and seed compositional traits

Abstract

The value of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] depends on quantity (yield) and quality, such as seed composition and test weight (TW). Test weight is a bulk density measurement for grain quality evaluation, and higher TW grains are preferred for storage, transport, and export. Thus, soybean breeding should focus on improvement of TW. The objectives of this study were to determine genotypic and environmental effects on TW of soybean and explore relationships of TW with yield, maturity, 100 seed weight (SDWT), seed quality (SQ), seed oil concentration (SOC), and seed protein concentration (SPC). Three sets of breeding populations (BPs), two mapping populations (MPs), and five different high vs. low seed protein near-isogenic lines populations (NILPs) were used. The BPs and MPs had an average range of 3.5 kg hectoliter (hL) -1 in TW among genotypes. The average ranges of TW in the NILPs were equal for both low protein (LP) and high protein (HP) lines (2.7 kg hL -1 ). Broad-sense heritability estimates for TW ranged from .62 to .95. The genotypic and G × E effects on TW were significant in all trials. The SDWT, SQ, SOC, and SPC had strong significant relationships with TW in multiple trials, but were inconsistent overall. Test weight of NILPs differing by presence of 'Danbaekkong' high protein allele on chromosome 20 had mostly significant positive and negative relationships with SPC and SOC, respectively.This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.

Soybean test weight in relation to genotype, environment, and genotype × environment interaction in the Southern United States

“…Protein and oil have an inverse relationship with each other and that is reflected in the relationship with TW; oil had a negative correlation with TW and protein was positive in the studies by Liu et al (2019) and McNeece et al (2021). One of the more interesting aspects is that TW was found to not be related to yield (Liu et al, 2019;McNeece et al, 2021).…”

“…Any stress, which directly impacts physical characteristics or seed composition, including moisture most likely will indirectly impact TW; for example, Phomopsis (Diapothe longicolla) was found to lower TW values indirectly by increasing split seeds (Hepperly & Sinclair, 1978), or as seed size or moisture increases, TW decreases (Liu et al, 2019). Protein and oil have an inverse relationship with each other and that is reflected in the relationship with TW; oil had a negative correlation with TW and protein was positive in the studies by Liu et al (2019) and McNeece et al (2021). One of the more interesting aspects is that TW was found to not be related to yield (Liu et al, 2019;McNeece et al, 2021).…”

Evaluating the accuracy and efficiency of test weight instruments for soybean (Glycine max L.) research

“…Test weight is a combination of multiple traits (seed size and composition) (Liu et al., 2019; McNeece et al., 2021) and is greatly affected by the environment, implying it is a quantitative trait. Through time, breeders have primarily focused on improving yield and main seed components such as oil and protein.…”

“…Therefore, there is a large knowledge gap as to which traits influence the overall TW value. Test weight is influenced by seed composition (Liu et al., 2019; McNeece et al., 2021). Other factors that may affect TW are the overall shape, size, and seed weight (Liu et al., 2019; McNeece et al., 2021).…”

“…Test weight is influenced by seed composition (Liu et al., 2019; McNeece et al., 2021). Other factors that may affect TW are the overall shape, size, and seed weight (Liu et al., 2019; McNeece et al., 2021). Seed size, oil, and moisture are negatively related to TW, whereas protein has a positive correlation (Liu et al., 2019; McNeece et al., 2021).…”