Location: Plant Science Research
Project Number: 6070-21600-001-013-R
Project Type: Reimbursable Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Oct 1, 2024
End Date: Sep 30, 2025
Objective:
The development of drought-resilient soybean varieties and germplasm presents a promising and sustainable solution to alleviate the adverse economic and agronomic effects of drought stress. A well-defined leaf trait can improve selection efficiency and screening methods for identifying drought-tolerant soybeans. This project will characterize the gas exchange rates and water use efficiency of diverse soybean germplasm to identify genetic sources of this trait that breeders can use to ameliorate the drought tolerance of soybean.
Approach:
Soybean genetic varieties will be grown in field plots and a Temperature Gradient Greenhouse. When plants reach the reproductive stage, photosynthesis and leaf gas exchange rates and water use efficiency will be measured using portable photosynthesis systems. The data will be analyzed and summarized with statistic evaluations.
