Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 October 2008
Twenty-five cultivars of soyabean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.), differing in their origin, crop duration and seed size, were planted four times at bi-weekly intervals during the major rainy season at Ibadan, Nigeria and harvested at optimum maturity or two weeks later. Delayed harvest and intense rainfall during pod maturation were essential for selecting for resistance to field weathering, but 2 weeks' delay enabled susceptible and resistant cultivars to be identified. Percentage of infected seed had the highest correlation with potential germination at harvest (r=−0·869**) but may not be a suitable criterion for use in a screening programme. An alternative would be to screen cultivars for resistance to weathering on the basis of seed size and the proportion of smooth and clean seed, since these characters were highly correlated to potential germination (r=−0·562** and 0·632** respectively).