Germination and field emergence potential of soybean land races vs improved varieties under different sowing dates

Abstract

Poor seed quality resulting in the establishment of poor stand which is the major problem of production in the cultivation of soybean. The objectives behind study were to evaluate the standard germination, field emergence and field emergence index of the seeds obtained from three land races (Kulat brown, Kulat white, Mothi) and two improved varieties (NARC-II, Swat-84) of soybean sown at four different dates at monthly interval from April to July during 2004, 2005 at New Developmental Farm, Agriculture University Peshawar. Standard germination, field emergence and field emergence index were significantly affected by sowing dates and varieties. In addition, to field emergence and field emergence index were observed to be affected by years. Sowing dates x varieties interactions were found significant for field emergence only. Maximum germination (74.6 %), field emergence (60.2 %) and field emergence index (79.1) were recorded for seeds harvested from May, April and April planted crops respectively. Kulat brown exhibited maximum germination (79 %), field emergence (66.1 %) and emergence index (83.6). In land races, germination, field emergence and field emergence index were detected as higher by 39, 58 and 12 percent comparatively to improved varieties. It is concluded that land races have the potential to emerge in various environmental conditions contrasted with improved varieties of soybean.