Abstract:

The identification methods of soybean maturity group in previous studies were compared to provide reference for selecting appropriate identification methods. Interval method, clustering methodology and regression analysis method were used to identify 90 soybean varieties in their growth period groups. The results showed that the three methods could group the tested varieties well. Clustering analysis method is applicable to the situation that the maturation period of materials to be grouped is rich and balanced, its number of standard varieties is small, and the value of the maturity group is not accurate. The critical value of the grouping needs to be corrected according to the distance between the maturity group. Interval method is suitable for the growth period of standard varieties in each group strictly according to the median distribution of the maturity group, and the definition of the grouping critical value is more accurate. Regression analysis method is applicable to the situation that the value of standard variety maturity group is accurate and the number of standard variety is large, so it can accurately identify the growth period group of tested variety. The results of any identification method should be based on the premise of determining the standard identification site, and the identification results should meet the requirements such as the distance of the maturity group defined by the growth period group. Through the comparison of three identification methods, the applicability and results of each method were analyzed, which provided theoretical basis for the identification of soybean maturity groups in different region.

Key words: soybean, maturity group, identification methodes