Crops: Flooding Tolerance

Periodic flooding during the growing season adversely affects crop growth and productivity, with the exception of flooded rice, in many areas of the United States and the rest of the world. Tolerance of anoxia and hypoxia has been used synonymously with the tolerance of flooding stress. Tolerance of field flooding appears to be much more complex than tolerance of artificially induced hypoxia and anoxia. Contrary to the injury seen in flooded fields, soybeans can thrive in stagnant water. Soybean, therefore, is much more tolerant to excessive water and a lack of oxygen than previously expected. The reasons underlying the dramatic differences between responses to flooding in the greenhouse and flooding in the field are not known.