Seed Treatment with Uniconazole Powder Improves Soybean Seedling Growth under Shading by Corn in Relay Strip Intercropping System

The relay strip intercropping system of wheat-corn-soybean is widely used in southwest China. However, it is hard to obtain a stable production of soybean with this system, since soybean plants grow under shading by corn; the stems are thinner and susceptible to lodging. We examined the effects of seed treatment with uniconazole powder (0, 2, 4 and 8 mg kg-1 seed) on the growth of soybean seedlings under relay strip intercropping, some morphological characteristics and yield. The seedling height, first internode length, cotyledonary node height and leaf area per plant were decreased, while the stem diameter, root dry weight, shoot dry weight, root volume, leaf greenness and root to shoot dry weight ratio were increased by uniconazole treatment. The root vigor and root active absorption area were also increased significantly by uniconazole treatment. Moreover, 2 and 4 mg kg-1 uniconazole powder treatment increased shoot dry weight, number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod and seed yield significantly. Thus, the results suggested that seed treatment with uniconazole powder at a suitable concentration can improve soybean seedling growth, resist the lodging and also increase the seed yield under shading by corn in relay strip intercropping system.