Physiologic parameters of soybean of determinate and indeterminate growth habit subjected to levels of soil moisture

Abstract

The objective of this work was to evaluate the physiological and production parameters of soybean (Glycine max) cultivars of determinate and indeterminate growth habits, in three levels of soil moisture. Three cultivars of determinate growth habit and three of indeterminate growth, at the beginning of the reproductive stage, were subjected to three levels of soil moisture: control, moisture at field capacity; moderated, 50% of the control level; and severe, 25% of the control level. Leaf gas exchange, xylem-water potential, chlorophyll content, chlorophyll a fluorescence, plant dry matter, and grain yield per plant were evaluated. The cultivars of indeterminate growth habit showed the greatest values for stomatal conductance and CO₂ assimilation at the severe treatment, which led to the higher water consumption, in the morning, and to the lower xylem water potential, in the afternoon; however, there was no gain of soybean dry matter. In both growth types, the intensity and duration of the severe level of soil moisture were not able to change the chlorophyll fluorescence. Soybean cultivars of both growth habits, subjected to severe levels of soil moisture from flowering to pod insertion, show no significant change for dry matter and grain yield.