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Journal of Integrative Agriculture  2020, Vol. 19 Issue (10): 2439-2450    DOI: 10.1016/S2095-3119(20)63159-8
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Rejuvenating soybean (Glycine max L.) growth and development through slight shading stress
WEN Bing-xiao*, Sajad Hussain*, YANG Jia-yue, WANG Shan, ZHANG Yi, QIN Si-si, XU Mei, YANG Wen-yu, LIU Wei-guo
Institute of Ecological Agriculture, Sichuan Agricultural University/Sichuan Engineering Research Centre for Crop Strip Intercropping System, Chengdu 611130, P.R.China
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Abstract  
The impact of increased shading stress on agronomic traits, photosynthetic performance and antioxidants activities in leaves of two soybeans cultivars (D16 and E93) was studied.  Soybean seedlings were grown in pots and exposed to no shade (S0), slight shade (S1), moderate shade (S2), and heavy shade (S3).  Our findings showed that under the S3 in both cultivars, leaf fresh weight (LFW), specific leaf area (SLA) and leaf thickness decreased significantly, accompanied by a reduction in photochemical parameters including the maximum quantum yield (Fv/Fm) and electron transport rate (ETR).  Furthermore, compared to S0, S1 significantly increased the ETR, sucrose content and the activity of catalase (CAT) in both D16 and E93 cultivars while S2 and S3 decreased the activity.  However, under all treatments of shading stress, the antioxidant activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) were lowered in both cultivars.  Such morphological and physiological plasticity to adapt S1 compensates for the decrease in biomass and leads to seed weight compared to that obtained with an amount of normal light.  Through configuring the space in the intercropping systems, S1 could be helpful for optimum growth and yield.  Redesigning photosynthesis through S1 for the intercropping systems could be a smart approach.
Keywords:  plant morphology        photosynthesis        antioxidant systems        slight shade  
Received: 04 July 2019   Accepted:
Fund: This work was funded by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2018YFD1000905).
Corresponding Authors:  Correspondence LIU Wei-guo, E-mail: lwgsy@126.com; YANG Wen-yu, E-mail: mssiyangwy@sicau.edu.cn    
About author:  * These authors contributed equally to this study.

Cite this article: 

WEN Bing-xiao, Sajad Hussain, YANG Jia-yue, WANG Shan, ZHANG Yi, QIN Si-si, XU Mei, YANG Wen-yu, LIU Wei-guo. 2020. Rejuvenating soybean (Glycine max L.) growth and development through slight shading stress. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 19(10): 2439-2450.

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