Associations of direct and indirect selection for pregermination anaerobic stress tolerance in soybean (Glycine max)

A set of diverse soybean genotypes were evaluated to identify contrasting phenotypes for understanding the genetics of waterlogging and response to the selection of primary and discernable traits for pregermination anaerobic stress tolerance. Agro-morphological characterization of genotypes was also carried out. Screening and tolerance to waterlogging were based on the ability of genotypes to germinate in excessive stress duration in days. The existence of significant variability in genotypes of soybean suggested the use of systematic selection for improving pregermination anaerobic stress tolerance. The study revealed that waterlogging tolerance was governed by testa colour of genotypes. Our results indicated a significant (P < 0.05) correlation with seed weight, flower, hypocotyl and testa colour under pregermination anaerobic stress. In conclusion, the study points out that testa integrity and delay in germination are required to be used as one of the criteria for indirect selection in breeding for pregermination waterlogging tolerance.