Assessment of Pollen Limitation and Pollinators' Contribution in Soybean (<i>Glycine max</i>).

ABSTRACT: Soybean (Glycine max) is a predominantly self-pollinating crop; however, its flowers exhibit traits associated with insect pollination. While several studies report yield benefits from floral visitation, others suggest little or no effect, and few have assessed pollen limitation through direct hand-pollination experiments. Here, we assess pollinator contribution and pollen limitation through two manipulative common garden experiments using different soybean cultivars. First, we assessed the contribution of pollinators by comparing reproductive variables between caged (pollinator excluded) and open-pollinated plants over two growing seasons. Second, we supplemented flowers with cross-pollen to test for pollen limitation, evaluating pollen-tube growth, pod set, seed number per pod, an

SUBMITTER: Castillo SE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12525767 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature