soybean (glycine max) yield and yield components responses to nitrogen supply and weather changes in the south-east of england

two year field experiment was carried out on two early maturing varieties of soybean (glycine max (l.) men.) bred in russia. the purpose was to investigate the possibility of production and to study the effects of nitrogen supply on soybean seed yield and yield components. a range of zero to 100 kg n ha in 1995 when plants suffered from water deficiency and zero to 100 kg n ha -1 in 1996 when plants received enough water, were applied. nitrogen supply had significant effect on seed yields and stem, leaf, pod and seed weight per m2 as well as total dry matter. yield production in the first year was significantly lower than in the second year because of water deficiency and lower dry matter. there were no differences for seed yields between varieties but, numbers of branches per plant and seeds per pod and 100-seed weight changed significantly for varieties and years. protein contents in both year experiments changed positively with nitrogen supply, while oil contents decreased due to nitrogen applications. these factors also differed between years. harvest index changed due to n-fertiliser application only the second year but it varied significantly between years. pods and seeds distribution through the nodes along the main stem varied for varieties.