In 1974 studies were commenced to evaluate the variation in qualities and traits of soybean. The material covered a collection of 2412 entries including 275 varieties and 2137 genetic lines. The entries representing Maturity Groups (MGs) 00-IV were obtained from the following centers: U.S. Regional Soybean Lab., Urbana, Illinois, USA; Corn Breeding Lab . , Hokkaido, Japan; National Agric. Exp. Sta . , Hitsujigaoka, Sapporo, Japan; Weibullsholm Inst. Branch Sta., Fiskeby, Sweden; Dept. of Crop Science, Univ. of Guelph, Canada and Research Branch Canada Agric. Morden, Manitoba, Canada (41-58° northern latitude)