Yield Response of Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrill] to High Temperature Condition in a Temperature Gradient Chamber

Recently, abnormal weather conditions, such as extreme high temperatures and droughts, have increased in frequency due to climate change, there has accordingly been growing concern regarding the detrimental effects on field crop, including soybean. Therefore, this study was conducted to examine the effects of increased temperatures on soybean growth and yield using a temperature gradient chamber (TGC). Two major types of soybean cultivar, a medium- seed cultivar such as Daepung-2 and a large-seed cultivar such as Daechan, were used and four temperature treatments, aT+1°C (ambient temperature+ 1°C), aT+2°C (ambient temperature+2°C), aT+3°C (ambient temperature+3°C) and aT+4°C (ambient temperature+4°C) were established to examine the growth response and seed yield of each cultivar. Seed yield showed a higher correlation with seed weight (r=0.713***) and an increase in temperature affected seed yield by reducing the single seed weight. In particular, the seed growth rate of the large-seed cultivar (Daechan) increased at high temperature, resulting in a reduction in the number of days for full maturity. Our results accordingly indicate that large-seed cultivar, such as Daechan, is potentially vulnerable to high temperature stress. The results of this study can be used as basic data in the development of cultivation technology to reduce the damage caused by elevated temperatures. Also, further research is required to evaluate the response of each process contributing to seed yield production under high temperatures.