| Soybean is an important crop to the United States and global markets. Soybean seed contains protein, oil, carbohydrates, and ash. The soybean seed concentrations of oil and protein are inversely correlated when breeding for either trait in the seed. In this research, the objectives were: 1) to evaluate maturity group (MG) IV and MG V soybean genotypes for important agronomic traits associated with local adaptability (yield, plant height, maturity, and lodging), 2) to determine the protein and oil seed concentrations and their correlations with yield, 3) estimate heritability of protein and oil concentrations of the seed while evaluating the relationships of the two traits. A total of 20 MG IV and 20 MG V genotypes were evaluated in four locations in 2008 and 2009 in Arkansas in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. These genotypes were selected for high yield, high protein concentration, or high oil concentration. The results showed that year and location were not significant for all traits evaluated except for maturity, and the genotype x year x location effect was significant for the traits. Maturity, height and lodging were not significantly different among genotypes with each MG. The protein and oil concentrations did show high heritability, and the oil and protein were negatively correlated. Results also indicated that advances have been made by breeders to obtain high yielding genotypes while maintaining high to moderately high protein and oil concentrations. In MG IV, high protein line R05-4682, high oil line R05-4256, and in MG V high protein line R05-1772, and high oil line R02-6185F, showed high yield potential with high protein or oil concentration while maintaining high yield. With these four genotypes Arkansas farmers will have the capability of producing value-added crops on production farms.;An economic analysis was performed to compare yield, protein concentration, and oil concentration of each line with check cultivars, which allowed for a break-even (BE) comparison of the total value of the line based upon seed yield and protein and oil concentration of the seed. In the BE analysis, there were six cultivars in 2008 from MGs IV and V showing profitability to the farmer if there was an added premium per bushel for increased protein (... |
