Drought Tolerance in Soybean: Methods for Improvement

Abstract

<p>As opposed to the past, plant breeders today have access to far greater technology, and far greater obstacles to overcome. One of those challenges is the need for drought tolerance in crops such as soybeans. Soybeans are a major crop, affected by drought due to a lack of tolerance traits in cultivars grown today. Drought tolerant soybeans are important globally, because soybeans are grown in many countries around the world where yield losses from drought are frequent. Therefore, it is essential for farmers to make changes to their practices to help their crops tolerate or avoid drought, and breeding programs should dedicate more effort to develop drought tolerant cultivars. While U.S. plant breeders need to improve soybean cultivars through their own projects, it is also important to help establish programs in countries with the greatest need for drought tolerance traits and fewest resources.</p>