Screening for soybean varieties suited to Belgian growing conditions based on maturity, yield components and resistance to Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and Rhizoctonia solani anastomosis group 2-2IIIB

Abstract

Policy makers and farmers in north-west Europe are expressing a growing interest in soybean production. However, cool and wet climatic conditions in this region pose challenges for this crop in terms of reaching maturity and producing sufficient yield and create additional disease pressure from the fungal pathogens Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and Rhizoctonia solani. To increase the chance for successful introduction of this new crop in Belgium and to determine the main issues for local soybean breeding programmes, 14 early maturing varieties were screened over a 2-year-period for their agronomic performance. Based on novel bioassays, susceptibility to S. sclerotiorum and R. solani anastomosis group (AG) 2-2IIIB was evaluated. The varieties tested were able to reach sufficient maturity (average seed moisture content of 19.0%) by the beginning of October. Significant differences were observed in most agronomic characteristics, with seed yield and protein content ranging from 2002 to 2916 kg dry matter/ha and 35.5–43.3%, respectively. Taller varieties ripened later but reached higher protein levels compared with shorter varieties. Tolerance to lodging was correlated with seed and protein yield but was not correlated with plant height. Large seeds corresponded with a high protein content. Susceptibility to S. sclerotiorum reflected significant differences between varieties. In contrast, levels of susceptibility to R. solani AG 2-2IIIB were similar between most varieties, with only the variety Primus showing significantly less disease. The results of the current study hold promise for a successful introduction of soybean cultivation in north-west Europe and areas for further crop improvement have been identified.

Data-driven yield projections suggest large opportunities to improve Europe’s soybean self-sufficiency under climate change

“…These scenarios are consistent with observed and recommended soybean frequencies in crop sequences in Europe. Indeed, a 1-in-3 year or 1-in-4 year soybean cultivation is often recommended to limit the risk of disease occurrence 33 (especially those caused by two fungal pathogens Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and Rhizoctonia solani 34,35 ), although higher frequencies are observed in Europe 33,36 and other countries 37,38 . Third we assumed that soybean is grown preferably in high-yielding grid-cells.…”

Improving Seed Quality of Soybean Suitable for Growing in Europe

“…Together with understanding the sources of variation, knowing the strength and direction of relationships among different traits is of great value for breeding programmes as it enables the enhancement of more than one trait at the same time. Although significantly negative relationship between oil and protein content was reported in most researches [61,70,81,84], in the research analysing variations from 21 studies conducted over 15 years (2002-2017), Assefa et al [142] concluded that, when pooling data across all studies, there was no significant relationship between oil and protein content, but a tendency for a negative relationship was observed when plotting data separately for each of the studies evaluated in the database. Furthermore, oil content increased slowly with yield increase suggesting a positive relationship, but when relationships were investigated by study, 63% of studies supported a positive relationship, and the other 37% displayed a slightly negative relationship between seed yield and oil content [142].…”

“…Such contradictory reports are a major concern in plant breeding since they complicate decision-making process during selection. Breeding for increased protein content is further complicated by negative correlation between protein content and yield reported by many authors [70,78,79], although there are studies indicating no significant correlation between those two parameters [80,81]. Furthermore, Vollmann et al [61] suggested that even moderately negative correlation between seed protein content and seed yield, means the selection of breeding lines with both improved protein content and acceptable yield level should be possible.…”

“…Furthermore, Vollmann et al [61] suggested that even moderately negative correlation between seed protein content and seed yield, means the selection of breeding lines with both improved protein content and acceptable yield level should be possible. On the other hand, the relationship between protein content and oil content is almost always significantly negative [61,70,81] which is caused by either pleiotropic effect or linkage [82] where every 2% protein content increase usually decreases oil content by 1% [83]. Apart from protein content, the content of sulphur-containing amino acids should be considered as it affects the nutritional value of soybean meal, so increasing the content of both would be beneficial.…”

“…Protein content range in the research by Popović et al [71] was 36.65-37.66%, and average value was 37.15%. Fogelberg and Recknagel [87] determined the protein content range of early matured, well-adapted soybean cultivars evaluated at three sites in Germany during 3 years to be 37-43%, while Pannecoucque et al [81] reported a protein content range of 35.5-43.3% in 14 early maturing soybean varieties tested in two consecutive years in two locations in Belgium. In a study by Kurasch et al [70] two types of European soybean varieties that maximise protein yield were distinguished: one that produces high grain yields per hectare with protein contents around 39-42% and the other with slightly lower protein yields than the first type but characterised by very high-protein contents (above 42%).…”