Abstract
Intraraceme variation in the numbers of flowers and pod set was examined on the terminal raceme and basal raceme in a field-grown soybean (cv. Tachisuzunari). Flowers opened from the basal to the 10th position on the peduncle and it took 6 days for full opening. Although flowers tended to abort earlier at the basal position, the order of abortion within the raceme was not clear. The percent pod set per flower was higher at the basal position (50-70%) than at a higher position. Most of the flowers at higher than the 6th position aborted. The rate of pod set per raceme greatly varied with the flowers per raceme ranging from 0 to 100%. With the increase in the number of flowers per raceme, the rate of pod set per raceme decreased, but the number of pods per raceme increased. It was concluded that the increase in the number of flowers per raceme contributes to a higher seed yield through the increase in the number of pods set per raceme.
