By Denise Attaway
As rising temperatures threaten soybean yields nationwide, scientists from Clemson University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture have identified heat-tolerant soybean lines and key traits that could help develop more resilient crops.
The team evaluated about 200 soybean breeding lines over two growing seasons in South Carolina, exposing plants to temperatures exceeding 100 degrees during critical stages of seed development.
They identified lines that sustained growth and yield under extreme heat, along with traits that could enable breeders to select for heat tolerance more efficiently.
“Heat stress during flowering and seed development is one of the most damaging challenges for soybean yield,” said Sruthi Narayanan, an associate professor in the Clemson Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences and the project lead. “In the past, breeders have had very few tools to select for heat tolerance. Our results show that certain traits, particularly aboveground biomass and leaf function, can reliably indicate how well a soybean line will perform under high temperatures.”
In the study, plants maintaining yield under heat stress had higher chlorophyll levels, resulting in healthier, greener leaves. These plants also maintained stronger photosynthetic activity and produced more biomass and seeds.
Source : clemson.edu