Root Growth of Two Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] Cultivars Grown under Different Groundwater Level Conditions

Soybean yield is low in the fields with a low groundwater level during summer due to drought stress. By raising the groundwater level using Farm-Oriented Enhancing Aquatic System (FOEAS) the yield of soybean cultivar Sachiyutaka can be increased, but not that of Fukuyutaka. Here, we examined the effect of the groundwater level on root growth and its dynamics in these two cultivars. Three of the four experiments demonstrated that root elongation ceased just below groundwater level in both cultivars. However, when the groundwater level was kept at 35 cm or deeper, the root growth at an early growth stage was more vigorous at a deeper layer in Fukuyutaka than in Sachiyutaka, but at the mid-growth stage root growth in Sachiyutaka became similar to or exceeded that of Fukuyutaka. These results indicated that the optimum control technique for the groundwater level differed with the cultivar. The groundwater level for Sachiyutaka should be kept relatively high at an early growth stage. Further studies will be needed to clarify the optimum control technique for maximizing the yield of Fukuyutaka that have a fast root growth at an early growth stage.