Agrobiological assessment of productivity and nitrogen fixation of vegetable soybean (edamame) in the conditions of Forest-Steppe of Ukraine.

Abstract

Agrobiological evaluation of vegetable soybean cultivars (Glycine max var. Shirofumi) according to a complex of economically valuable traits for introduction in the conditions of the Forest-Steppe of Ukraine it was carried out with the aim of selecting the source material and selecting promising breeding forms according to morpho-biological and physiologicalbiochemical characteristics. The research was conducted in the conditions of the educational and production department of Uman National University of Horticulture during 2020–2022, collection cultivars of different ecological and geographical origins were used. The cultivars ‘Sac’ (166.00 g plant-1), ‘Vesta’ (139.33 g plant-1), ‘Fiskeby V’ (133.33 g plant-1), and ‘Fiskeby V-E5’ (146.67 g plant-1) possessed a large mass of edamame beans. The maximum yield of edamame beans was formed by plants of the ‘L 380-2-13’ (12.67 t ha-1), ‘Vesta’ (12.33 t ha-1), ‘Sac’ (13.20 t ha-1), ‘Fiskeby V’ (13.97 t ha-1), and ‘Fiskeby V-E5’ (14.53 t ha-1). Weather conditions during the period of research significantly influenced the yield and biochemical composition of edamame varieties. The yield of edamame beans ranged from 5.40 t ha-1in 2020 (min) to 22.40 t ha-1 in 2021 (max), and the coefficient of variation by varieties was at the level of 19–41%. This phenomenon is explained by the minimum amount of precipitation in 2020 and the high amount in 2021, which is confirmed by the hydrothermal coefficient during the period of intensive pod growth (VII–VIII) - 2020 - 0.3; 2021 - 1.3 and 1.1 respectively for the month. The protein concentration in Edamame beans was in the range of 27.94–36.29%. A higher protein content relative to the standard was noted in one sample - ‘Karikachi’ - 36.29%. Minimal accumulation of oligosaccharides was noted in ‘Sac’ and ‘Astra’ cultivars, which indicates their suitability for consumption. Promising cultivars were identified by the amount of fixed nitrogen - ‘Sac’ (168.00 ± 4.32 kg ha-1), ‘Astra’ (161.67 ± 2.36 kg ha-1) and SybNYYSOH 6 (158.19 ± 4.56 kg ha-1). The conducted regression analysis showed close relationships (from moderate to functional) between various indicators of the development and productivity of the nodulation apparatus of edamame cultivars. The evaluation of the collection cultivars of vegetable soybeans, their use according to the variability of morphological features and productivity made it possible to single out the ‘Sac’ among the introduced collection cultivars based on a set of valuable traits for use in the selection process to create new cultivars of vegetable soybeans.