Pod Positions on the Plant Associated with Pod Shattering Resistance in Soybean Genotypes

Background: One of the major constraints of soybean production in Indonesia is pod shattering which occurs after soybean pod maturity. This study aimed to identify the pod shattering resistance of different pod positions in the plant stem. Methods: Sixteen genotypes were evaluated in the field research during the dry season 2019. The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design with three replicates. Ten sample plants were randomly taken after R8 phase. Plant was divided into three parts, i.e. upper part, middle part and lower part. The shattering evaluation was done using the oven-dry method in the laboratory. The observation on the number of shattered pods was measured for each part of plant stem. Result: Pod shattering was different among the pod positions as well as among genotypes. One genotype was categorized as resistant, eight genotypes were moderate, six genotypes were susceptible and one genotype was highly susceptible. The highest percentage of the shattered pods was in the lower part of the plant stem, followed by the middle and upper part, respectively. The resistant genotypes showed the shattered pods mostly in the lower part of the stem, the moderate genotypes showed the shattered pods mostly in the lower and middle part of the stem and the susceptible genotypes shattered in all part of the stem.