Updated August 19, 2022:
July 1, 2021 – June 30, 2022
Annual Report: Breeding of Glyphosate-Resistant Soybean Cultivars
Principal Investigator: Dr. Carrie Miranda, Department of Plant Sciences, North Dakota State University – Cooperating Scientists: Dr. Berlin Nelson, Department of Plant Pathology, North Dakota State University; Dr. Guiping Yan, Department of Plant Pathology, North Dakota State University
Growers would like to purchase glyphosate-resistant soybean varieties that are high-yielding, are lodging and IDC-tolerant, and have good disease and pest resistance and be able to save their own seed for the next crop year. Soybean varieties are protected by a patent on the glyphosate-resistant gene (construct) and often protected by a second patent on the variety. Monsanto has provided a website to explain these issues (http://www.soybeans.com/patent.aspx). Fortunately, the RoundUp Ready 1 glyphosate resistant gene has come off patent and also does not require regulation for use. By utilizing this herbicide resistance mechanism, North Dakota farmers will have access to unlicensed, high yielding, glyphosate tolerant soybean varieties through North Dakota State University. The purpose of this research is to provide superior glyphosate-resistant varieties that have been developed by the North Dakota State University soybean breeding program. The research objective is to continue to produce superior soybean varieties suitable for North Dakota with glyphosate tolerance.
To ensure these successes, new experimental lines need to be initiated every year. Crosses to develop Roundup Ready (RR1) experimental lines were begun in the summer of 2010 and new crosses have been made every summer since then, including 2021. Crossing between varieties is the first step to developing new experimental lines. Each summer that crosses have been developed, an effort has been made to develop populations with phytophthora root rot resistance and SCN resistance by using at least one parent that is resistant to one or both of these pathogens or pests.
In 2021, 53 new crosses between glyphosate resistant soybean varieties and either high yielding, SCN resistant, P. sojae resistant varieties (or a combination of those traits) were attempted resulting in 304 F1 seeds that were sent to the winter nursery in Chile for advancement.
In addition in 2021, 3401 glyphosate-resistant plant-rows (F5) were planted and 1439 were selected for first year yield testing in 2022. This large number of lines selected for first year yield testing signifies a shift in priority for the North Dakota soybean breeding program. Due to the success of this project for so many years, the glyphostate resistant breeding project will now become the main priority for breeding due to the successful incorporation of not only the herbicide resistance but also high yield and several disease resistant traits.
From yield testing conducted in 2021, 2 lines were selected for seed increase in the winter nursery in Chile. Both of these lines were entered for 2021 prerelease and are awaiting approval pending further data. This line is MG 00.6, which is useful for northern North Dakota and Canada. The other line is MG 0.2 and shows moderate resistance to SCN. This would be the first glyphosate tolerant and SCN resistant line that the NDSU breeding program releases.
Finally, for all lines in advanced yielding testing, SCN resistance testing was conducted in 2021 by Guiping Yan of North Dakota State University. This is new step forward for the NDSU soybean breeding program in controlling the devastation that SCN can cause to farmers. Berlin Nelson tested all lines entered into our third year advanced yield tests and found the vast majority are resistant to Race 4 of Phytophthora and the remainder are resistant to Race 3. This is thanks to the fastidiousness in breeding and testing that was conducted by Ted Helms and Berlin Nelson.
The benefit of this research to the North Dakota soybean industry would be that growers can save input costs because they would be able to save their own seed for replanting the following year. At present, farmers must purchase expensive new seed each year. According to Monsanto, when the patent is no longer viable for the Roundup Ready One technology, growers are supposed to be able to save their own seed and plant it without fines or penalty.
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July 1, 2021 – June 30, 2022
Final Project Results: Breeding of Glyphosate-Resistant Soybean Cultivars
Principal Investigator: Dr. Carrie Miranda, Department of Plant Sciences, North Dakota State University – Cooperating Scientists: Dr. Berlin Nelson, Department of Plant Pathology, North Dakota State University; Dr. Guiping Yan, Department of Plant Pathology, North Dakota State University
This project has enabled NDSU to continue the process of developing glyphosate-resistant soybean cultivars. There are glyphosate-resistant experimental lines in the NDSU breeding program that are being tested in a range of maturity that varies from a 1.0 to a 00.4 maturity, and properly adapted throughout the entirety of North Dakota. New experimental lines are developed each year including in 2021. This project has significantly reduced seed costs to soybean growers. Cultivars with glyphosate resistance developed at NDSU are not patented. The cost savings for growers that purchase glyphosate-resistant cultivars developed by NDSU will occur the second and subsequent years after the initial purchase of the seed. The seed of new experimental lines has been increased in Chile, S.A. each winter to speed the development and release.
This project has been successful with the first glyphosate tolerant variety (ND17009GT) released in 2017 and two new varieties were successfully released in 2020. 21ND08GT73 is a MG 0.8 and the first later maturing GT line released by the NDSU program. This line allows a more growers in North Dakota access to the cost effective NDSU GT lines. 21ND008GT20 is a MG 00.8 variety and considered an improvement on ND17009GT due to its increase IDC tolerance.
A successful breeding pipeline continually has promising materials moving through it. In addition to the two variety releases, prereleases are continually entered. There is a MG 00.6 experimental line suggested for prerelease that requires additional data.
In addition there is also a MG 0.2 experimental line suggested for prerelease that also has moderate SCN resistance that was validated by Guiping Yan. Phytophthora resistance for all these lines and other in advanced yield trials was validated by Berlin Nelson.