Genotype and Environment Influence on Protein Components of Soybean

• Published in: Crop science Vol. 43; no. 2; pp. 511 - 514
• Main Authors: Fehr, Walter R., Hoeck, Joseph A., Johnson, Susan L., Murphy, Patricia A., Nott, Joel D., Padilla, Gabe I., Welke, Grace A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Madison Crop Science Society of America 01.03.2003
• ISSN: 0011-183X; 1435-0653
• DOI: 10.2135/cropsci2003.5110

The quality of some soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] food products has been associated with the content of some components of the protein fraction of the seed. The objective of this study was to determine the role of genotype, environment, and genotype × environment interactions on the components of β‐conglycinin (βc) and glycinin (G). The traits were measured on 14 cultivars of Maturity Group II grown in three replications at each of eight locations throughout Iowa in 1998, 1999, and 2000. Cultivars were significantly different for all traits, except the A3 subunit of G. No significant interactions were found for cultivars with years or locations for βc, G, or the G/βc ratio, which indicated that the relative performance of cultivars across environments was consistent. No significant differences were expressed among years or locations for βc, G, and the G/βc ratio; however, there were significant differences for the three traits among the 24 environments. There was a significant phenotypic correlation of −0.92 between the βc and G contents of the 14 cultivars averaged across environments, but no significant correlations of βc, G, or the G/βc ratio with protein and oil content. It should be possible to breed for desired levels of the protein components in a cultivar development program and to select among cultivars for the traits in commercial grain production.