Abstract:
A study was undertaken to obtain information on the performance of depodded soybean under
reduced light intensity prevalent in South West Nigeria during the season of soybean cultivation.
Soybean plants were subjected to 0, 10, 20 and 40% depodding at the R5 stage of growth and
grown simultaneously under 75, 50 and 100% daylight regimes for two weeks. The 100% light
regime served as control. Depodding engendered a greater accumulation of chlorophyll in the
leaves of depodded plants. Yield was reduced in depodded plants and the magnitude of reduction
increased with increasing severity of pod removal. Depodding interacted with light intensity such
that the effect of reduced Sight intensity on soybean was made more pronounced. Depodded
plants grown under subdued light intensities had higher chlorophyll concentration than plants
depodded and grown under the 100% Sight regime. Similarly, field grown plants (which received
lower photon flux) had a higher chlorophyll level than pot grown plants. It is likely that several
factors in addition to light interacted to determine the magnitude of chlorophyll production in
soyabean. The lower light regimes had relatively little impact on the vegetative growth of
soyabean apparently because of the advanced stage of growth in which the treatments
(depodding and light regimes) were imposed on the plants.
