Photoperiod regulation of floral initiation for soybean plants at different ages

Soybean plants [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] of the determinate cultivar Ransom growing in controlled environments under 16-h photoperiods were exposed to 10, 12, 14, 15, and 16-h photoperiods upon expansion of either the two primaries or fifth trifoliolate leaf (V1 and V6 developmental stages, respectively) to determine the influence of plant size on sensitivity to photoperiod. Plants were sampled at 2 to 3-day intervals over a 21-day treatment period and examined microscopically for evidence of floral development. Time of floral initiation for plants exposed to photoperiod treatments at either V1 or V6 stage varied only by a few days among photoperiods, but the subsequent differentiation of floral primordia was much more rapid at shorter than at longer photoperiods. These results confirm previous observations for plants transferred upon expansion of the first trifoliolate leaf (V2 stage) and indicate that sensitivity of floral responsiveness to photoperiod changed little with plant size.