Effects of planting patterns,leaf trimming and pollinator on hybrid soybean seed production

To improve the production of soybean hybrid,the effects of parents planting patterns,leaf artificial trimming,and pollinators were investigated on hybrid yield.Results showed that mixed planting of both parental seeds in the same hole could markedly increase the pollination effects mediated by both honeybees and the alfalfa leafcutter bees.Compared to the traditional planting method of 1∶1 parental rows,this novel planting regime resulted in a significant increase in the number of pods per CMS(cytoplasmic male sterility) plant by 20.40%(honeybee pollinated) and 30.52%(alfalfa leafcutter bee pollinated) respectively.The pollination efficiency of alfalfa leafcutter bees was significantly higher than that of the honeybees.Trimming off the two smallest ones on the trifoliate-leaves of the parents during flowering period could also significantly increase the pod-bearing rate of CMS,and the pod-bearing rates of two CMS lines JLCMS9A and JLCMS4A reached 24.1% and 65.3% respectively,which increased by 68.82% and 54.01% compared to no-trimming control.