Mississippi Delta farmers who plant soybean crops in rotation with paddy rice can see yield losses as high as 25-percent. But the work of USDA scientists could result in soybean varieties that thrive in soggy fields – which would help increase profits for these farmers. A collaborator at a USDA Agricultural Research Service facility in Ohio has studied flood tolerance in soybeans in a range of environments. In an effort to supplement the narrow genetic base of U.S. soybeans and improve their tolerance to wet soil and associated diseases – this scientist and her colleagues are finding and incorporating genes from non-native soybean varieties.
The flood tolerance of lines native to Vietnam and Cambodia and lines from Australia, China, Japan and Taiwan created with modern breeding techniques were among those included. The top three flood-tolerant lines were identified during screenhouse tests. The plants were grown in pots – and once in full bloom – were placed in a bucket of water so that the water level was two-inches above the soil surface for two weeks. The plants from the top lines grew the tallest and produced the biggest seeds and highest yields. When replicated in flooded experimental fields – USDA says the results were the same.