Imbibitional chilling injury in cultivars of soybeans differing in temperature sensitivity to pod formation and maturation periods

Abstract

The occurrence and extent of chilling injury during imbibition of seeds from five cultivars and four lines of soybeans (Glycine max (L.) Merr) were tested. Seeds were imbibed and incubated at 2 °C for up to 72 h on moist filter papers and their ability to germinate when returned to 25 °C was recorded. Early-maturing varieties with the ability to form pods and seeds at lower temperatures were most susceptible to irreversible injury during imbibitional chilling. Rate of water uptake during low-temperature imbibition was measured, and seeds which were most susceptible to imbibitional chilling also had the highest rate of water uptake. In controlled-environment studies, seeds from the same cultivars that were set at different temperatures showed corresponding differences in susceptibility to imbibitional chilling injury. These results suggest that environmental temperatures during seed set or pod formation can play a role in chilling tolerance during seed imbibition.