Insect-mediated cross-pollination in soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrill]: II. Phenotypic recurrent selection

Recurrent selection is a method for population improvement which has been used in soybean Glycine max (L.) Merrill] to modify traits such as grain yield, seed-protein content, seed-oil content, tolerance to iron-deficiency chlorosis, and seed size. Nuclear male-sterility with insect-mediated cross-pollination has been successfully used in recurrent selection schemes in soybean. However, little attention has been given to selection to increase the agronomic performance of male-sterile plants per se. The objective of this study was to evaluate the response of male-sterile lines segregating for male-sterile alleles ms2, ms3, ms6, ms8, and ms9 to phenotypic recurrent selection for increased seed-set after 3 cycles, using a selected group of male parents. Bees halictidae, anthophoridae, andrenidae, and megachilidae were utilized as the pollinator vector. The results indicated that recurrent selection in a favorable environment was successful to increase the number of seeds per male-sterile plant. Although a differential response was observed among populations, the seed-set observed would justify the use of some specific male-sterile selections as female parents in a hybrid soybean seed production system.