Fig. 5.

Air-dried immature soybean seeds display high germination rates and normal seedling growth. (A) Immature soybean pods harvested 37 d after flower initiation, imaged both at the time of harvest and after 8 d of air-drying. Scale bars = 5 cm. (B) Soybean seeds removed from immature soybean pods air-dried for 8 d, taken from three independent plants. Scale bar = 1 cm. (C) Seven-day-old seedlings germinated from the air-dried immature seeds. The germination ratio of the air-dried immature seeds was 100% for seeds derived from three individual plants. n = 14 per plant. Scale bar = 5 cm. (D) A 15-day-old seedling derived from an air-dried immature seed grown on vermiculite. Scale bar = 5 cm. (E) The seedling size, determined as the stem length from the cotyledon [white arrowhead in (D)] to the top of the plant [blue arrowhead in (D)], of 15-day-old plants grown from immature seeds harvested from three individual plants. n = 14 per plant. Error bar = SD.