Developing a soybean variety requires a total of about 8 seasons of soybean production. The first 5 are needed to crossbreed the parental stock and develop true-breeding progeny. An additional 3 are required to yield test the progeny in NC and ‘pick the winners’ for farmer use. Normally, 8 seasons of breeding would take 8 years. However, we can shorten the process two years by growing extra soybean crops during North Carolina’s off-season (November through
April) at the USDA winter nursery in Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico is frost free and therefore an excellent off-season environment for North Carolina breeding programs. The importance of the winter nursery is highlighted by the fact that all of the varieties we release in NC are developed using the Puerto Rico winter nursery. The objective of this research is to grow NC soybean breeding nursery materials during the off-season in the Puerto Rico winter nursery. Using the
winter nursery speeds the development of soybeans with high yield, drought tolerance, nematode resistance, higher protein & improved oil quality. Because of the long time required for varietal development (8 years), it is essential to have a winter nursery that can reduce that delivery time. Otherwise, it would not be possible to maintain the high productivity and competitive performance of our breeding program. The winter nursery allows us to rapidly take advantage of genetic advances as they occur and get them into applied breeding. This request is for Year one of a three year project.