Tolerance of soybean cultivars to flooding stress in vegetative growth stages

Abstract The objective of this work was to evaluate the tolerance of soybean (Glycine max) cultivars to flooding stress at different growth stages. The experiment was arranged in a 2x2x5 factorial arrangement, with two sowing dates (October and November), two soybean cultivars (TECIRGA 6070RR and NA 5909 RG), and five growth stages (SE-EM, EM-VC, VC-V2, V2-V4, and V6-V8) in the 2018/2019 and 2019/2020 crop years. The experimental design was completely randomized with four replicates. For both evaluated soybean cultivars, the growth stage most sensitive to soil flooding was SE-EM. After seedling emergence, the highest reductions in leaf area and shoot dry matter were observed in the V2-V4 stage, regardless of cultivar, sowing date, and crop year. From the V4 stage onwards, soybean shows a higher tolerance to flooding conditions. However, after seedling emergence, the TECIRGA 6070RR cultivar has a higher tolerance to flooding stress than NA 5909 RG. Sowing in October tends to reduce the impact of flooding stress on the plants.