The study investigated the water exchange indicators of seven soybean (Glycine max L.) varieties—Arisoy, Zara, Zamin, Chara, Olmos, Bars, and Optima—under different soil moisture conditions (70%, 50%, and 30% of total field capacity) in the meadow-alluvial soils of the Bukhara region. Field experiments were conducted to evaluate diurnal leaf water deficit using physiological measurements at various growth stages (budding, flowering, and pod formation). The results showed significant varietal differences in leaf water deficit depending on soil moisture and phenological phases. The highest deficit was recorded in Bars, Optima, and Zara varieties under 30% moisture, while Arisoy and Zamin maintained lower values, indicating better drought tolerance. Overall, decreased soil moisture increased water deficit across all varieties. These findings highlight the importance of selecting drought-tolerant soybean genotypes for stable yield under arid and semi-arid conditions.  

Soybean varieties, water deficit, drought stress

Fried, H. G., Narayanan, S., & Fallen, B. (2019). Evaluation of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] genotypes for yield, water use efficiency, and root traits. PLoS One, 14(2), e0212700. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0212700

Martin, J., Devkota, K. P., Terence, E. E., & Tarik, C. (2023). Exploring the potential of mapped soil properties, rhizobium inoculation, and phosphorus supplementation for predicting soybean yield in the savanna areas of Nigeria. Frontiers in Plant Science. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2023.1120826

FAOSTAT. (2022). FAOSTAT. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QCL

Helfenstein, J., Diogo, V., Bürgi, M., Verburg, P., Swart, R., & Mohr, F. (2020). Conceptualizing pathways to sustainable agricultural intensification. In Advances in Ecological Research (Vol. 63, pp. 161–192). https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.aecr.2020.08.005

Szpunar-Krok, E., & Wondołowska-Grabowska, A. (2022). Quality evaluation indices for soybean oil in relation to cultivar, application of nitrogen fertiliser, and seed inoculation with Bradyrhizobium japonicum. Foods, 11(5), 762. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11050762

Slamani, R. M., Bejger, R., Włodarczyk, M., & Kulpa, D. (2022). Effect of humic acids on soybean seedling growth under polyethylene glycol-6000-induced drought stress. Agronomy. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12051109

Jiang, W., Zhao, Y., Wu, X., Du, Y., & Zhou, W. (2023). Health inequalities of global protein-energy malnutrition from 1990 to 2019 and forecast prevalence for 2044: Data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. Public Health, 225, 102–109. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2023.10.003

Goulart, H. M. D., van der Wiel, K., Folberth, C., Boere, E., & van den Hurk, B. (2023). Increase of simultaneous soybean failures due to climate change. Earth’s Future, 11(4), e2022EF003106. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022EF003106

Arya, H., Singh, M. B., & Bhalla, P. L. (2021). Towards developing drought-smart soybeans. Frontiers in Plant Science. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2021.750664

Tatar, O., Cakalogulları, U., Tonk, F. A., Istıplıler, D., & Karakoç, R. (2020). Effect of drought stress on yield and quality traits of common wheat during grain filling stage. Turkish Journal of Field Crops, 25(2), 236–244. https://doi.org/10.17557/tjfc.834392

Kalra, A., Goel, S., & Elias, A. A. (2024). Understanding role of roots in plant response to drought: Way forward to climate-resilient crops. The Plant Genome, 17(1), e20395. https://doi.org/10.1002/tpg2.20395

Zhang, Y., Wu, X., Wang, X., Dai, M., & Peng, Y. (2025). Crop root system architecture in drought response. Journal of Genetics and Genomics, 52(1), 4–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jgg.2024.05.001

Liu, B. H., Jing, D. W., Liu, F. C., Ma, H. L., Liu, X. H., & Peng, L. (2021). Serendipita indica alleviates drought stress responses in walnut (Juglans regia L.) seedlings by stimulating osmotic adjustment and the antioxidant defence system. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, 105, 8951–8968.

Saddique, M. A. B., Zulfiqar, A., Sher, M. A., Farid, B., Ikram, R. M., & Ahmad, M. S. (2020). Proline, total antioxidant capacity, and gene activity in radical and plumule of rice are efficient drought tolerance indicator traits. International Journal of Agronomy, Article 8862792.

Qi, Y., Ma, L., Ghani, M. I., & Peng, Q. (2023). Effects of drought stress induced by hypertonic polyethylene glycol (PEG-6000) on Passiflora edulis Sims physiological properties. Plants, 12(12), 2296. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12122296

Wang, X., Li, X., & Dong, S. (2022). Screening and identification of drought tolerance of spring soybean at seedling stage under climate change. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2022.988319

Li, S., Zhou, L., Addo-Danso, S. D., Ding, G., Sun, M., Wu, S., & Lin, S. (2020). Nitrogen supply enhances the physiological resistance of Chinese fir plantlets under polyethylene glycol (PEG)-induced drought stress. Scientific Reports. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-64161-7