SOUTH CAROLINA: Clemson researchers developing heat-tolerant soybeans
Soybean is one of the top cash crops grown in South Carolina, but high temperatures during the growing season limit yields and cut into profits.
Two Clemson University researchers believe a better understanding of traits associated with heat tolerance in soybean can help in developing heat-tolerant varieties that can lead to more sustainable crop production. They have received a $649,895 grant from the USDA NIFA to study soybean’s efficiency for heat tolerance. This grant continues research in which the researchers are examining traits that lead to heat tolerance in soybean.
The project aims to generate information on lipid metabolic changes, physiological mechanisms and their genetic controls that confer heat tolerance in soybean. During the project researchers will evaluate contemporary high-value soybean varieties with high seed oleic acid content and drought tolerance. The data generated will provide producers with information on the heat tolerance of these varieties.
“The long-term goal for this project is to improve soybean’s climate resilience so that it can produce stable yields under heat stress conditions,” said Sruthi Narayanan, lead investigator for the project.
“With our warm summer climate, we often see temperatures more than 85° during the growing season,” Micael Plumblee said. “At temperatures greater than 85°, we can experience several different issues with soybean such as reduced nodulation, slowed photosynthesis, abortion of flowers and small pods, as well as production of smaller seed. All of these can be yield-limiting.
“If soybean germplasm can be developed that can tolerate temperatures greater than 85 degrees and then used in breeding programs throughout the Southeastern United States, this ultimately could increase soybean yields across the state and region.”