Abstract
Water imbalance condition (WIC) in a maize-soybean relay intercropping system is the main abiotic stress limiting biomass production and seed yield and, consequently, seed-quality. This experiment was started to study the effects of WIC on soybean, in which two soybean genotypes ND12 and C103 were grown in pots with roots split equally between two soil column and six WIC treatments (%) T1 (100), T2, (100:50), T3 (100:20), T4 (50:50), T5 (50:20), and T6 (20:20) field capacity on both sides of soybean roots were used. Results showed that both genotypes responded significantly to WIC treatments for all the parameters; however, the level of response differed between genotypes. Maximum osmoprotectants (except proline), biomass, yield and yield-related traits and superior seed quality were observed with ND12. Among WIC treatments, T2 and T3 produced 94% and 85%, and 93% and 81% of T1 biomass and yield, respectively. Similarly, treatments T2 and T3 also improved the oil quality by maintaining the content of unsaturated fatty acids and isoflavone content, while opposite trends were observed for protein content. Overall, moderate water reduction (T2 and T3) can improve soybean seed-quality and by selecting drought-resistant genotypes we can increase the soybean yield under intercropping systems.
Highlights
Soybean is a highly consumable oilseed and protein crop that is mainly intercropped with maize in the south-west of China [1]
The amount of water applied to all irrigation treatments was calculated and compared
The crop production under T1 and T2 was fairly comparable with both soybean genotypes
Summary
Soybean is a highly consumable oilseed and protein crop that is mainly intercropped with maize in the south-west of China [1]. The maize-soybean strip intercropping system has minimum soil water losses with high water productivity [2]. These strip intercropping systems have the potential to resolve food crises in developing countries. Maize plants in maize-soybean strip intercropping conditions change the field microenvironment of soybean (especially light and water conditions) which negatively affects the plant growth and development of soybean under this system [3,4]. Scientists have observed uneven water utilization and distribution (Figure 1) between maize and soybean rows in maize-soybean intercropping systems [3]. Soil volumetric water content and soil evaporation in the maize–soybean relay intercropping system showed the decreasing trends in the following order: maize row < maize-to-soybean row < soybean
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