Suitable traits of soybean for forage production in living mulch systems were evaluated by comparing the growth of eight soybean varieties.
Reduction of whole-plant yield was larger in early-maturing than in late-maturing varieties.
Whole-plant yield of soybean was highly correlated with the vegetation cover ratio at flowering stage.
Some varieties showed severe lodging which would cause marked yield loss when machine-harvested.
The varieties with high whole-plant yield, protein content and lodging resistance are suitable for forage soybean production in living mulch systems.