Genetic Improvement in Soybean: Physiological Attributes

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Abstract
Higher seed yields of modern soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) cultivars, in comparison to older cultivars, can be attributed to improvements in genetic potential through plant breeding and to advancements in agronomic technology used in farm production systems. From their review of the literature, Specht and Williams [1] estimated genetic improvement in U.S. soybean yields to be approximately 10–18 kg/ha annually. Their own tests of 240 cultivars released between 1902 and 1977 from maturity groups 00 through IV showed the average annual rate of genetic gain to be 18.8 kg/ha. However, the average annual gain was only 12.5 kg/ha when they compared just the cultivars of hybrid origin released after 1939. Plant introductions and cultivars produced for forage and vegetable purposes were not included in the latter analysis.

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