Accelerated ageing test reveals quantitative nature of inheritance of seed viability in soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr]

Abstract Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrill] (2n=40), an important source of the premium quality protein (40%) and oil (18-20%), suffers from poor viability of the seeds during ambient storage. The current study aimed to understand the genetic control of seed viability in soybean and its association with other traits through accelerated ageing test. A set of 119 F2:3 seeds from a cross between good storing genotype EC1023 (91.87% germination after 1 year of ambient storage) and poor-storing genotype VLS61 (60.87% after 1 year of ambient storage) were tested for viability and vigour through accelerated ageing (AA) test. The parameters of the AA testing, which were initially standardized from six different combinations, were-temperature: 41± 1 0 C, duration: 72 hours and relative humidity (RH): ~100%. The tested seeds differed significantly for viability and vigour index I and II, which ranged from 4.16 to 71.42%. The continuous distribution of the viability percent of the F2:3 seeds indicated an involvement of more than one gene in controlling the viability of the seeds. The percent seed germination found to be positively and significantly correlated with the average seedling length (r=0.78) and seedling dry weight (r=0.83). Similarly, seedling length was found to be positively and significantly associated with seedling dry weight (r=0.92). The information on genetic control of viability of soybean seeds along with its vigour indices would pave the way for mapping and deploying the genes for improvement of viability in soybean.