How does the large-seeded, high-yielding Huayou No. 5 soybean perform?
On September 30, right in the harvest season for field crops, the reporter saw in the contiguous fields of Huayou No. 5 soybean planted in Gongjiazhuang Village, Qiaoxi District, Shijiazhuang City: the golden leaves could no longer hide the pods covering the plants, the pods hanging on the stems were as densely packed as harvested corn wrapped around tree trunks, the plump beans seemed about to burst the pods, and the 3 seeds in each pod refused to be outdone, each growing perfectly round. Wang Yuling, the breeder of this variety and director of the Soybean Office of the Shijiazhuang Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, who was conducting a survey in the field, introduced that Gongjiazhuang Village has 1000 mu of cultivated land, all planted with the Huayou No. 5 soybean variety. According to field yield measurements by experts, the average yield per mu was 257.37 kg, among which the 20 mu north of the road averaged 303.67 kg per mu. Wang Yuling said that in order not to let the land lie fallow, the villagers just sow the seeds and wait for harvest; if management were strengthened and investment increased, the yield would be even higher.
Soybean has long been regarded as a low-yielding crop. Why can Huayou No. 5 rewrite its history? Director Wang Yuling listed the temperament and characteristics of Huayou No. 5 as if counting his family treasures:
Large seeds. The 100-seed weight of ordinary soybean varieties is 18-19 g, while the 100-seed weight of Huayou No. 5 is about 28 g. In plots with good fertilizer and water conditions, the 100-seed weight of this variety can reach more than 30 g, making it an extra-large-seeded variety.
High yield. In two years (2003-2004) of provincial variety regional trials and the provincial summer-sown soybean production trial (2004), it won first place three times in yield among the participating varieties, with yield increases of 9.9%-15.7% over the control variety. Among these, the two-year provincial regional trial averaged a 12.4% increase over the control variety, and the provincial production trial increased yield by 15.7%.
Disease resistance. After several years of field trials and demonstrations, this variety is highly resistant to any disease, and until harvest it still has clean green leaves and yellow leaves, laying the foundation for the beans to grow large and full.
Lodging resistance. Huayou No. 5 has a compact plant type, upright and hard stems, and a well-developed root system, with a plant height of about 90 cm.
Good commodity quality. The seeds of this variety are oval, with yellow seed coats and yellow hilum, attractive in appearance and excellent in internal quality. According to measurements, the protein content of the seeds is 43.86%, and the crude fat content is 19.63%.
Suitable for mechanized harvesting. This variety has no branches, sets pods on the main stem, has a bottom pod height of about 18 cm, has good leaf drop at maturity, and does not shatter pods, which is conducive to mechanized harvesting.
It is understood that Huayou No. 5 is a new high-yielding soybean variety bred by the Shijiazhuang Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences in cooperation with the Shijiazhuang Institute of Agricultural Modernization, Chinese Academy of Sciences, using chemical mutation methods. It passed the approval of the Hebei Provincial Crop Variety Approval Committee in 2005 and began large-scale promotion in the summer-sown soybean planting areas of central and southern Hebei Province.