Salts in irrigation water, soil types and soil drainage in Arkansas combine to make salt stress a challenge in many soybean fields. As the crop uses water, salt minerals build up in the soil and the plants themselves. Farmers need soybean varieties that can tolerate chloride. This work measured how salt negatively impacts chloride-sensitive soybeans. Chloride stress reduces photosynthesis in soybeans. This physiological stress can occur well before visible signs appear. Eventually symptoms will mimic drought stress, and the plant dies. This research provides farmers access to an improved selection of soybean varieties with chloride tolerance.

Key Benefactors:
farmers, agronomists, soybean breeders