New Drought Tolerant Soybean Varieties

Previous research has shown that drought-tolerant plants grow better than most plants during drought conditions but grow poorly under optimal growing conditions. Dr. Larry Purcell of the University of Arkansas says that they have "sidestepped this problem" with the identification of two drought-tolerant soybean traits that perform well in U.S. soybean varieties under moderate drought and normal conditions.

"This is a significant project that has produced many important discoveries for finding soybeans with agronomic advantages under moderate drought conditions," Purcell said. He added that one of the traits allows the soybean plant to continue to accumulate nitrogen during moderate drought condtions. The other trait lets the plant conserve water before the onset of a drought. Having these two traits in one variety is a significant advancement in drought-tolerant soybean research.

For more details read the United Soybean Board press release at http://www.unitedsoybean.com/pressroom/press_releases.aspx