Growth regulators promote soybean productivity: a review

PeerJ. 2022 Mar 4:10:e12556. doi: 10.7717/peerj.12556. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrill] is a predominant edible plant and a major supply of plant protein worldwide. Global demand for soybean keeps increasing as its seeds provide essential proteins, oil, and nutraceuticals. In a quest to meet heightened demands for soybean, it has become essential to introduce agro-technical methods that promote adaptability to complex environments, improve soybean resistance to abiotic stress , and increase productivity. Plant growth regulators are mainly exploited to achieve this due to their crucial roles in plant growth and development. Increasing research suggests the influence of plant growth regulators on soybean growth and development, yield, quality, and abiotic stress responses. In an attempt to expatiate on the topic, current knowledge, and possible applications of plant growth regulators that improve growth and yield have been reviewed and discussed. Notably, the application of plant growth regulators in their appropriate concentrations at suitable growth periods relieves abiotic stress thereby increasing the yield and yield components of soybean. Moreover, the regulation effects of different growth regulators on the morphology, physiology, and yield quality of soybean are discoursed in detail.

Keywords: Abiotic stress; Plant growth regulators; Soybean.

Publication types

  • Review
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Glycine max* / genetics
  • Plant Growth Regulators* / metabolism
  • Plant Proteins / metabolism
  • Stress, Physiological

Substances

  • Plant Growth Regulators
  • Plant Proteins

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the General Program of National Natural Science Foundation of China (31871576), the Project of Enhancing School with Innovation of Guangdong Ocean University (230420006), and the Studies on Resistance Resources and Molecular Mechanisms of Sweet potato Weevil in South China (U1701234). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.