This experiment was conducted to investigate the changes of growth and maturity and to clarify the function of supernodulating characters, excessive nodules and high biological nitrogen fixation rate (BNF), on maturity in response to different planting time in supernodulating soybean mutants. Two supernodulating soybean mutants, Sakukei4 and SS2-2, and their parent cultivars, Enrei and Shinpaldalkong2, were planted on May 24 and June 15, 2004. The degrees of the shortening of growth days by the planting time delay were 18 to 22 days in four cultivar, and there were no significant differences among the cultivars. However, four cultivars showed the different maturity properties. Sakukei4, mutated from Enrei, showed later maturity than that of Enrei, and 882-2, mutated from Shinpaldalkong2, showed earlier maturity than that of Shinpaldalkong2. The plant and nodule dry weights at R6 stage of Sakukei4 showed the smallest decrement and those of SS2-2 was showed the largest decrement by the delay of planting time. The photosynthetic rates of Sakukei4 during the late reproductive growth period were slowly decreased, however those of SS2-2 were steeply decreased in two planting time treatments. Overall, the growth of Sakukei4 was decreased slowly, however the growth of SS2-2 was decreased sharply according to the delay of planting time. The percentage of seed yield of Sakukei4 in June planting plot compared with May planting plot at R8 stage was 92~% , which was the lowest decreasing rate of yield among the cultivars, and in the case of SS2-2, it was in 76~% , the highest one. These results indicated that the responses of supernodulating mutants by the delay of planting time were very similar to the wild types. This means supernodulating characters in supernodulating soybean mutants might not affect to the maturity property. Additionally, the maturity property could be considered as an important characteristics to decide or to select on the developments of supernodulating soybean mutants, which have a low productivity by an excessive nodules, especially.

This experiment was conducted to clarify the functions of supernodulating characters on seed yield determination through the comparison of agricultural traits of supernodulating soybean mutants, Sakukei4, SS2-2, and their parent cultivars, Enrei and Shinpaldalkong2. The plant dry weights of supernodulating mutants, Sakukei4 and SS2-2, were 52~% and 61~% of their wild type parents at full seed stage (R6). However, the relative growth rate (RGR) from the pod set stage (R3) to R6 of Sakukei4 was 0.022 g/g/day and that of SS2-2 was 0.016 g/g/day, which were higher than those of their parents. Nodule number and dry weight were increased in two supernodulating mutants by the R6 stage. The nitrogen concentrations of leaf, petiole and stem of Sakukei4 were higher than those of Enrei. SS2-2 showed higher nitrogen concentration in petiole than Shinpaldalkong2 had. The positive correlations were appeared between nodule dry weight, plant dry weight and pod number, in two supernodulating mutants during the period from R3 to R6 stage. Although all of the yield components and seed yield were lower in two supernodulating mutants than their parents at the stage of full maturity (R8), the harvest index was higher in supernodulating mutants. The increasing rates of pod number to stem dry weight in two supernodulating mutants showed the higher than those of two their parents at R8 stage. In conclusion, the relative growth rates during the early to the middle reproductive growth period were higher in supernodulating mutants than the wild types. This could be resulted in an increase in pod number. The increase of relative growth rate was the result of the successive supplement of nitrogen source from biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) of nodules during the middle reproductive growth period in supernodulating mutants.