101 



WEIGHT OF SEEDS AS RELATED TO THEIR NUMBER 

 AND POSITION IN THE POD 



By Byron- D. Halsted 



Soybeans 



The seeds of soybeans vary somewhat in size as they are found 

 in the commercial packet. This is due, in part, to the size of the 

 pod, that is, the number of seeds, and to their position in the pod, 

 as the figures in the accompanying table show. 



Weight in Grams of Seeds of Soybeans 



Type of Pod Early Brown 



Wilson 



Ito San Average Pod Average 



i-seeded 



.210 

 .177 

 .199 

 .188 

 .209 

 .201 



.141 

 •139 

 .142 

 .124 

 .140 

 .132 



.200 .184 ! .184 



2- " base 



2- " tip 



3- " base 



3- " middle 



3- " tip 



.190 

 .190 

 .167 

 .187 

 .187 



.169 



• 177 -173 



.160 j 



.179 ' 



■ 173 -171 



Averages .197 



.136 



•187 1 .1735 



The three kinds selected are representative of the large number 

 of varieties of soybeans that vary greatly in season of growth and 

 size of seed. The above figures are derived from 1,750 seeds 

 each, excepting for the one-seeded lots, where only 950 could be 

 secured for each of the three kinds, and making a total of 29,100 

 seeds. 



It is observed that the largest seeds are produced in the one- 

 seeded pods, there being but a very minor exception to this rule 

 in the Wilson group in favor of the two-seeded tip. 



It is seen by the last column that the two-seeded pods bear 

 somewhat heavier seeds than the three-seeded pods; in other 

 words the average weight of seeds in a pod is in inverse ratio 

 to the number of seeds in the pod. 



It is further noted that within the pod the seeds usually vary 

 in weight. For example, the basal seeds in two-seeded pods 

 average 4.52 per cent lighter than those produced in the distal 

 end of the pod. In the Ito San, how-ever, the weights for the 

 two positions are the same. In the three-seeded pods the seeds 



