AGRONOMIC CHARACTERS AND SEED PROTEIN CONTENT OF SOYBEAN (GLYCINE MAX [L.] MERR.) LINES ACROSS ENVIRONMENTS

Agronomic performance and seed nutritional content are influenced by genetic, environmental, and genotype × environmental factors. The objective of this research was to study the agronomic performance and seed protein contents of 49 soybean lines in two environments. This research was conducted in vertisols located in Ngale Research Station (RS) and associated alfisol with inceptisol located in Jambegede RS with different chemical soil properties and weather conditions. The plant materials were 49 soybean lines that originated from soybean crossing. Agronomic characteristics, such as days to maturity, plant height, branches plant−1 , productive nodes plant−1, filled pods plant−1, 100-seed weight, and seed yield were influenced by location, genotype, and genotype × environment interactions. Location had no effect on plant height and the number of filled pods. However, the number of filled pods was influenced by genotype × environmental interactions. The agronomic characteristics and protein content of 49 soybean lines in Ngale RS were higher than those of the lines in Jambegede RS. The agronomic performance of the tested lines was inconsistent in the two locations. G-15 had the highest yield in Ngale with 3.36 t ha−1, whereas the highest seed yield in Jambegede was shown by G-49 with 3.88 t ha−1. Lines G-4, G-5, G-20, G-22, G-25, G-38, G-39, and G-49 had the highest protein contents, which ranged from 39.97% to 40.97%. The methionine contents of these eight lines ranged from 5080.61 ppm to 6018.20 ppm. The highest methionine content was achieved by G-5, whereas the lowest methionine content was achieved by G-37.