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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Peoria, Illinois » National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research » Functional Foods Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #377842
Research Project: Improved Processes and Technologies for Comprehensive Utilization of Specialty Grains in Functional Food Production for Digestive Health and Food Waste Reduction

Location: Functional Foods Research

Title: Application of near infrared spectroscopy for determination of relationship between crop year, maturity group, location, and carbohydrate composition in soybeans

Author
item Singh, Mukti
item Bowman, Michael
item Berhow, Mark
item Price, Neil
item Liu, Sean

Submitted to: Crop Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/8/2021
Publication Date: 3/19/2021
Citation: Singh, M., Bowman, M.J., Berhow, M.A., Price, N.P., Liu, S.X. 2021. Application of near infrared spectroscopy for determination of relationship between crop year, maturity group, location, and carbohydrate composition in soybeans. Crop Science. 61(4): 2409-2422. https://doi.org/10.1002/csc2.20503.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/csc2.20503

Interpretive Summary: Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a rapid nondestructive method to determine basic composition of grains and other agricultural products including soybeans. There is a need to develop fast and easy methods to accurately measure levels of sugars in large numbers of wide range of soybeans to understand the relationship with the growing environment and conditions. Over 40,000 U.S. soybeans samples grown in 231 locations across 14 states during the years 2013 to 2018 were used in this study. The samples were ground and scanned using NIRS. The evaluation of total carbohydrates, including the non-digestible sugars, was determined by prediction using NIR calibration models. The models were used to evaluate sugar composition of 2300 soybean samples and an additional 700 samples for validation. Relationship between sugars and the agronomic traits of the soybeans were determined. This work demonstrates that NIRS is a suitable rapid method to determine sugars in large numbers of soybeans, and that crop year, maturity group, and location had a significant effect on the sugars in soybeans. NIR is being used in laboratories, breeding programs, at grain elevators and processing plants, and this will aid breeding programs and nutritional assessments for human food and animal feed uses.

Technical Abstract: Over 40,000 discrete samples of soybeans were obtained from locations around the United States grown during the years 2013-2018. The samples were ground and scanned on near infrared spectrometer (NIRS). The carbohydrate composition: sucrose, raffinose family oligosaccharides (RFO), total soluble sugar composition, total insoluble sugars, and total uronic acids was determined by prediction using NIRS calibration models. Multiple linear regression (MLR) models were developed using about 2300 soybean samples and an additional 700 samples for validation with NIRS scans and carbohydrate composition measurements using analytical methods. Relationship between carbohydrates and the agronomic traits of the soybeans were determined. It was found that crop year, maturity group, and location had a significant impact on the carbohydrate composition of soybeans. NIRS is an accurate, rapid, and non-destructive method to determine carbohydrate composition in large numbers of soybeans.