Emergence percentage, photosynthesis, and growth in the laboratory, and field performance were compared in four seed sizes of four varieties of soybeans [Glycine max (L.) Merrill]. The three largest seed fractions exhibited superior emergence percentages and greater cotyledonary and unifoliolate leaf area in the laboratory. However, the smallest seed size exhibited higher photosynthetic rates. The three largest seed sizes showed greater overall emergence percentage, leaf area, and height in the field. Further, the three largest sizes yielded significantly more than did the small size when grown at uniform populations. Although the yields were significantly different, neither the percentage size distribution of the harvested seeds nor the seed quality was affected by the size of the seeds used to plant that plot.
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Burris et al. (1973) studied this question.