Identification of Soybean Cultivars Using Biochemical and Morphological Characteristics at Seed and Seedling Stage

Abstract

Seventy five cultivars ofsoybean were characterized for seed storage proteins, amylase isozymes, s~ed coat peroxi~a~e,
hypocotyl pigmentation. All the cultivars were first c,lassified into twelve major groups based on visual charactensttcs
viz. seed coat colour, hilum colour and seed coat lustre. These groups were further classified based on seed coat
peroxidase reaction, hypocotyl pigmentation, amylase isozymes and seed storage protein, generating 73 groups.
Thus, most of the cultivars could be uniquely identified based upon seed and seedling characteristics. Only four
cultivars viz. JS2, Punjab!, MACS13 and MADS7! fell into two groups each consisting of two cultivars