Evaluation of Soybean Sprouts for Agronomic, Morphological and Nutritional Traits.

Soybean sprouts have been used in the oriental cuisine since ancient years as a good source of protein, vitamins and minerals. As a predigested food, they have a higher biological value than raw or cooked seeds. Sprouts also have a regenerating effect on the human body because of their high concentration of nucleic acids that can be found only in living cells. One-hundred plant introductions from 7 different countries of origin (China, France, Japan, Russia, South Korea, Taiwan and United States), and 10 different maturity groups (0-IX) with small and green seed coat characteristics that are desirable for soybean sprouts production were included in this study. Fifty seeds from each plant introduction were grown in automatic sprouters that maintained at 20^oC. Phenotypic data were collected for germination rate, percentage of abnormal seedlings, hypocotyl length, and sprout yield 6 days after germination. Soybean sprouts were also analyzed for several nutritional traits such as digestible energy, protein, carbohydrates and fat content, calcium, phosphorus and feed elements content. Estimates of variances and genotypic correlations among all traits were calculated. In addition, the analysis of principal components revealed the combination of agronomic, morphological and quality variables. The objectives of this study were to identify lines that can be used as source material for the development of varieties suitable for sprouting and mapping populations.