SELECTION OF SOYBEANS FOR ADAPTATION THROUGH PRINCIPAL COMPONENT ANALYSIS UNDER DIFFERENT CLIMATIC FACTORS AT SEEDLING STAGE

Soybean (Glycine max L.) is known as "Golden Beans" that is also called "meat that grows on plant". It is a climate sensitive crop so adaptation under different climatic regimes is a permanent solution. The crucial factors for its adaptation are temperature, photoperiod and water. The right combination of these climatic factors allows soybean to avoid unwanted conditions for germination, growth and to maximize the yield. The present study was focused on selection of soybeans for adaptation under different climatic regimes. Three separate experiments were conducted. Eighty accessions were screened under three different water treatments (T0= 100% water holding capacity, T1= 60% water holding capacity and T2= 40% water holding capacity) photoperiod treatments (T0 = 10 hours, T1= 11 hours and T2 = 13) and temperature treatments (T0= 30 degrees C, T1= 35 degrees C and T2= 40 degrees C) using Split Plot with Completely Randomized Design. Data of seedlings for water, temperature and photoperiod related traits were recorded. The recorded data were subjected analysis of variance, mean values (photoperiod) and Principal Component Analysis (water and temperature). Five best accessions (common in water, temperature and photoperiod experiments) were selected. Selected accessions can be used as potential parents for the development of breeding material and may be further evaluated under different climatic conditions to study their worth for adaptation.