PRODUCTION POTENTIAL OF SOYBEAN (Glycine max L.) IN RESPONSE TO BORON UNDER AGRO ECOLOGICAL CONDITIONS OF PAKISTAN.

Abstract

The present study was carried out in Agronomic Research Area, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad to evaluate the production potential of soybean (Glycine max L.) in response to boron. In this experiment the variety William-82 was sown in spring 2012. The treatments were comprised of seven levels of boron i.e. 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 kg ha^-1. Borax was used as boron source. The experiment was carried out in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) using three replications. Boron at 2 kg ha^-1 significantly increased plant height (60.94 cm), number of pods plant^-1 (43.22), number of pods bearing branches (6.55), thousand seed weight (88.07 g), grain yield (1757 kg ha^-1), biological yield (4122 kg ha^-1), harvest index (42.62 %) and protein content (36.48 %) while maximum oil contents (20.67 %) were obtained when 8 kg ha^-1 (B₄) boron was used which was statistically at par with treatment 2 kg ha^-1 (B₁). While maximum net income was also obtained by application of boron at 2 kg ha^-1 under agro ecological conditions of Pakistan.