AGRONOMIC PERFORMANCE OF SOYBEAN PLANT INTRODUCTIONS AND THEIR GENETIC SIMILARITY TO ELITE LINES

North American soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] is derived from a narr ow genetic base. Plant introductions (PI) and cultivars from the north ern USA may be sources of diversity for southern U.S. cultivars, Scree ning diverse lines for agronomic value may identify potential parents that facilitate breeding for diversity, The objectives of this researc h were to evaluate the association of agronomic value and genetic dive rsity of selected PIs and to conduct a preliminary comparison of their value in the South with that of selected northern U.S. cultivars, Fie ld evaluations of 31 PIs, 11 populations derived from cross of five no rthern cultivars x southern lines, and 15 southern Lines were conducte d at five environments in Arkansas. Restriction fragment length polymo rphism (RFLP) data from 60 Loci were collected from all PIs, parents o f the populations, and 57 southern elite lines, The agronomic value of most PIs was low because of excessive shattering, Lodging, and/or poo r yield, Exceptions were noted, The estimated yield potential of most of the northern cultivars exceeded the mean yield of the PIs and they had Less shattering than the PIs, The PIs and the northern cultivars w ere genetically divergent from the southern elite population and from each other, The agronomic value and relative diversity of the PIs were independent, Diverse PIs with above average agronomic value were iden tified, These PIs may serve as sources of genetic diversity that can b e exploited through simple breeding schemes, The southern PIs and nort hern lines may act as complementary gene pools to provide desirable ge nes for diversifying southern U.S. soybean.