Emergence and seedling growth of soybean cultivars and maturity groups under salinity

Soybean is an important agricultural crop and has, among its genotypes, a relatively wide variation in salt tolerance. As measured by vegetative growth and yield, however, the achievement or failure of a high emergence ratio and seedling establishment in saline soils can have significant economic implications in areas where soil salinity is a potential problem for soybean. This study was conducted to determine the effects of salinity, variety and maturation rate on soybean emergence and seedling growth. Included in the study were the variety ‘Manokin’; four near-isogenic sibling lines of the variety ‘Lee’ belonging to maturity groups IV, V, VI and VII; and the variety ‘Essex’ and two of its near-isogenic related lines representing maturity groups V, VI and VII, respectively. Field plots were salinized with sodium chloride and calcium chloride salts prior to planting. The soybeans were irrigated with furrow irrigation which redistributed the salts towards the tail ends of the field plots. Elevated soil salinity near the tail ends of the field significantly reduced soybean emergence rate, shoot height and root length. No significant reduction was found for emergence or seedling growth of variety ‘Manokin’ when the electrical conductivity of soil solution extract (ECe) was less than 3 dS m−1. Soybean emergence and seedling growth was significantly reduced when soil ECe reached about 11 dS m−1. Maturity groups V and VII of variety ‘Lee’ or V and VI of ‘Essex’ appeared to be more sensitive to salinity stress than other maturity groups. Salt tolerance of different genotypes and maturity groups should be considered, among other limiting factors, in minimizing salinity effects on soybean growth.