Abstract:Chloroplast pigments, gas exchange, chlorophyll a fluorescence kinetics and leaf orientation were extensively studied in soybean leaves from emergency to full expansion. During the development of soybean leaves, chlorophyll content, the ratio of Chl a/ Chl b and photosynthesis increased, indicating a gradual development of photosynthetic apparatus during leaf expansion. During daily courses, not only fully expanded leaves, but also young leaves were not seriously photoinhibited by strong irradiance under fi...