African Journal of Agricultural Research Vol. 2(8), pp. 356-359, August, 2007

ISSN 1991- 637X­© 2007 Academic Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Field evaluation soybean varieties at Ilorin in the southern guinea savanna ecology of Nigeria

Akande, S. R., Owolade, O.F. and Ayanwole J.A.

Institute of Agricultural Research and Training, Obafemi Awolowo University, Moor Plantation, P.M.B. 5029 Ibadan, Nigeria.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: remiajibade2002@yahoo.com

Accepted 15 May, 2007

Twenty six newly developed soybean varieties were evaluated for two years at Ilorin in a southern guinea savanna environment of Nigeria. The reaction of the varieties to rust infection was also assessed. Effects due to year, variety and year x variety interaction were significant for all the characters evaluated except for plant height where year x variety interaction had no significant effect. Number of days to 50% flowering ranged from 42 to 47.33. Early flowering varieties included TGX 1903-8F, TGX 1903-7F and TGX 1904-2F, while late flowering ones were TGX 1924-1F and TGX 1925-1F.  Plant height varied between 25.00 and 44.17 cm. Grain yield ranged from 1017.24 to 2133.01 kg/ha.  The best yielding varieties were TGX 1921-23F and TGX 1922-1F. Significantly higher grain yields were obtained in 2005 with an average value of 1602.0 kg/ha compared with 1470.13 kg/ha recorded in 2006. There was no incidence of rust infection in 2005, but in 2006 however, six soybean varieties expressed mild symptoms of the disease.

Key words: Grain yield, varietal evaluation, rust infection, savanna agro-ecology, soybean.