Earlier work indicated that pod removal from soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] led to increased stomatal dif. fusion resistance (r8) and reorientation of leaflets. In the present experiments, when rapidly growing pods were removed from growth chamber‐grown plants, diffusion porometer measurements showed that r8 of the upper leaf surface doubled within 24 hours and plateaued at 48 hours at approximately four times the normal r8. Stomatal diffusion resistance of the lower leaf surface increased by a smaller amount. The extent of stomatal closure on both leaf surfaces was generally proportional to the number of pods removed. The stomatal response was similar when pods were removed from the stem above or below the test leaf. The stomatal response occurred in a leaf even though the pods at that particular node remained on the plant. In the field, depoddinlged to slightly greater increases in r8 than in the growth chamber. In the growth chamber, leaflets of depodded plants rotated on their main axes to attain a near vertical orientation. Field‐grown plants did not exhibit a discernible leaflet reorientation following pod removal.
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Koller et al. (1978) studied this question.