Intraspecific variations in antioxidant defense responses and sensitivity of soybean varieties to ambient UV radiation

Abstract

Field experiments were conducted to determine the effects of exclusion of UV-A/B and UV-B alone on growth parameters, activity of antioxidant enzymes, level of antioxidants and yield, to evaluate the intra-specific variations in sensitivity of these responses in eight soybean (Glycine max) varieties (PK-472, PK-1029, Pusa-24, JS-7105, JS-335, Hardee, NRC-7 and Kalitur). The plants were grown in specially designed UV-exclusion chambers which lined with selective UV filters to exclude either UV-B ( Hardee > JS-335 > Kalitur > JS 71-05 > Pusa-24 > NRC-7 > PK-1029 and UV-A/B sensitivity can be arranged in decreasing order as PK-472 > Kalitur > JS-335 > Hardee > Pusa-24 > JS 71-05 > NRC-7 > PK-1029. The results indicate var. PK-472 is more sensitive than other varieties and PK-1029 is least sensitive to ambient level of UV radiation. This study in the area of UV-B and UV-A/B stress provides an extensive data that can be used as a predictive basis in crop sciences to further investigate some of the tolerant varieties in field studies.