Salend, A New Soybean Cultivar for North Regions of Khuzestan

Northern regions of Khuzestan province are suitable areas for soybean cultivation. Hybridization blocks and soybean segregating generations were established in Safiabad Agricultural Research Center during 1990-1997 to produce new soybean lines which would have a high seed yield and high adaptability to the region. Line L.14 selected from segregating generations of a hybridization between cultivars Safiabad and Duglas, showed better perfprmance among 14 lines selected from generations of this hybridization. In a two years yield trail carried out in 1999 and 2000, line L.14 produced 3977 kgha-1 seed yield which was 33% higher than that of check cultivar Semmes and was 14 days early maturity than the check cultivar. In different agrotechnical experiments performed in 2001-2002, this line appeared to be suitable for planting as the second crop after wheat or miaze in the region, producing up to 3900 kgha-1 seed yield. In addition to seed yield, L. 14 has about 1.38g higher 100 seed weight and 15 cm lower plant height than the check cultivar. In on farm experiments carried out in two locations in Dezful and Shoosh during summer of 2002, line L.14 produced 22% higher seed yield and was 12 days early maturity than the check cultivar Semmes. Line L.14 was officially released through the Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization and named Salend, for cultivation in northern regions of Khuzestan, South west of Iran.