ASSESSMENT OF BOTANICAL AND GENETIC COLLECTION OF SOYBEAN FOR MORPHOLOGICAL AND YIELD ATTRIBUTES AND THEIR IMPACT ON NODULE-ASSOCIATED BACTERIA AND SOIL FERTILITY

Assessment of botanical and genetic collection of soybean cultivars transpired during 2021–2022, for morphological and yield-related traits and their impact on nodule bacteria and soil fertility, at the Dormon Scientific Experimental Station, Institute of Genetics, Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan, District Kibray, Tashkent region, Uzbekistan. The soybean cultivars, grown in a randomized complete block design, had a factorial arrangement with three replications. Results revealed that in the botanical collection, the highest seed yield per plant came from the soybean cultivar K-2600 (48.3 ± 1.30 g), 1000-grain weight from Bk-105 (215.9 ± 0.15 g), and the number of grains per plant from the genotype K-2600 (346.4 ± 6.48). Moreover, in the genetic collection, the high oil content resulted in the genotypes Gen-15 (20.11%), Gen-13 (19.46%), and Gen-11 (19.40%). The higher values of the total protein content emerged in the soybean cultivars, Ehtiyozh (34.09%) and Gen-9 (33.74%), Gen-19 (34.72%), and Gen-26 (33.08%). Among the two types of soybean collections studied, the most substantial number of root nodules appeared in the cultivar Sochilmas (96.65 ± 0.11) during the pod formation phase. The recorded highest amount of soil microelements, according to soil analysis, was at the sowing site of the soybean cultivar, Genetiс-1 and on average, the soil samples contained N-NO3 (28 mg/kg), mobile P2О (212.3 mg/kg), and volatile trace element K2О5 (36 mg/kg), found to remain in the soil after crop harvesting. The conclusion based on the results indicates that the local soybean cultivar Genetik-1 has a more positive effect on improving soil fertility versus the other genotypes in both collections.