Forage Yield Performance of Soybean Genotypes for Spring Seeding and Double Croppnig

Authors : Esvet Açikgöz, Abdurrahim Göksoy, Gary Wietgrefe, Ayşen Uzun, Mehmet Sincik

Pages : 7-16

View : 18 | Download : 11

Publication Date : 2020-10-09

Article Type : Research

Abstract :Soybean, an annual broadleaf legume, may be grown as hay and pasture crop or ensiled with corn and sorghum for livestock. Field experiments in a Mediterranean-type climate were conducted in the 2013, 2014 and 2015 growing seasons to evaluate DM yield and some yield components of soybean genotypes [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] in Bursa, Turkey. In the study’s first step, seventy soybean genotypes and five check cultivars were evaluated in augmented design in 2013 and then selected genotypes were grown in a completely randomized block design with three replications in 2014 and 2015 experimental years. All field studies were established in main (spring planting) and double cropping conditions, simultaneously. There were statistically significant differences between soybean genotypes in dry matter (DM) yield, yield components and partitioning of soybean plant parts in both main and double cropping. In main cropping conditions, DM yield of fifteen selected soybean genotypes averaged 15931 kg ha-1 in first and 9645 kg ha-1 in the second year of the study. Indicating planting date and year-to-year genotype differences, the DM genotypes ranged from 5683 to 26028 kg ha-1 in the main cropping system. Nine genotypes were also evaluated over two years for plant height, branching, leaflet size, and DM yield in a double cropping system with significant differences in evaluated traits and DM yield. Even in the double cropping system, soybean genotypes averaged well over seven tonne per hectare DM with a range of 4568 to 13293 kg ha-1. As an indication of soybean forage quality, leaflet percentage increased and stem percentage decreased in the double cropping system. In a Mediterranean climate, soybeans for forage can provide a high-yield annual broadleaf alternative to annual grass or perennial forages by critically evaluating cultivar selection.
Keywords : forage soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merr., haying, plant components, seeding time