Element composition and magnesium coefficent of soybean seeds

The magnesium, calcium and aluminium contents in different soybean seeds depended on both the variety and the soil type. Late-ripening soybean varieties were compared with early and intermediate varieties. The element contents of the early varieties were lower than those of the intermediate and late soybean varieties grown at the same experimental site. In addition to measurements on whole soybean seeds, the seed-coat and inner parts were also analysed separately. The magnesium, calcium and aluminium contents of the seed-coat were higher than those of the inner parts. There were only slight differences in the contents of protein and crude fat, and no correlation was found with the magnesium contents. The correlation between the magnesium coefficient (z) and the protein content (Kiss, 1974) was valid only in cases where the difference between the magnesium coefficients of two plants was more than 0.1.