An assessment of the interactions between climatic conditions and genetic characteristic on the agricultural performance of soybeans grown in Northeast Asia

Glycine max, commonly known as soybean or soya bean, is a species of legume native to East Asia. The interactions between climatic conditions and genetic characteristic affect the agricultural performance of soybean. Therefore, an investigation to identify the main elements affecting the agricultural performances of 11 soybeans was conducted in Northeast Asia, China [Harbin (45°12′N), Yanji (42°53′N), Dalian (39°30′N), Qingdao (36°26′N)], Republic of Korea [Suwon (37°16′N), and Jeonju (35°49′N)]. The days to flowering (DTF) of soybeans with the e1-nf and e1-as alleles and the E1e2e3e4 genotype, except Keumgangkong, Tawonkong, and Duyoukong, was relatively short compared to soybeans with other alleles. Although DTF of the soybeans was highly correlated to all climatic conditions, days to maturity (DTM) and 100-seed weight (HSW) of the soybeans showed no significant correlation with any climatic conditions. The soybeans with a dominant Dt1 allele, except Tawonkong, had the longest stem length (STL). Moreover, the STL of the soybeans grown at the test fields showed a positive correlation with only day length (DL) although the results of our chamber test showed that STL of soybean was positively affected by average temperature (AVT) and DL. Soybean yield (YLD) showed positive correlations with latitude and DL (except L62-667, OT89-5, and OT89-6) although the response of YLD to the climatic conditions was cultivar-specific. Our results show that DTF and STL of soybeans grown in Northeast Asia are highly affected by DL although AVT and genetic characteristic also affect DTF and STL. Along with these results, we confirmed that the DTM, HSW, and YLD of the soybeans vary in relation to their genetic characteristic.