2020
Development of High Yielding Soybean Cultivars with Advanced Herbicide-tolerance Technology, and Pest and Pathogen Resistance for Georgia Growers
Category:
Sustainable Production
Keywords:
GeneticsGenomics
Lead Principal Investigator:
Zenglu Li, University of Georgia
Co-Principal Investigators:
Project Code:
Contributing Organization (Checkoff):
Leveraged Funding (Non-Checkoff):
This breeding program also receives funding from the University foundation connected to cultivar release for commercialization.
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Institution Funded:
Brief Project Summary:

Increasing yield and reducing production costs are imperative for greater soybean success in the Southeast. High-yielding soybeans with multiple disease and pest resistance can achieve greater profits, particularly when marketed to livestock and poultry producers who value high-quality soy protein. A continuous pipeline of cultivars to produce disease- and pest-protected varieties is needed to maintain this competitive edge for growers in the Southeast. Many successful soybean varieties throughout the Southeast are rooted in the soybean breeding program at the University of Georgia. Breeding methods combine classical breeding with genetic markers to efficiently select for both traits and yield. Marker-assisted breeding cuts down on the time it takes to develop and release cultivars.

Key Benefactors:
farmers, agronomists, soybean breeders, Extension agents, seed companies

Information And Results
Project Deliverables

1) Soybean cultivar releases
In 2020 we had six soybean cultivars approved for release by the CAES Plant Cultivar and Germplasm Release Committee.

2) New RR2Y, LibertyLink, and Conventional High Yielding Soybean Lines
A total of 43 high-yielding RR2Y, conventional and LibertyLink soybean lines were advanced to USDA Southern Uniform Tests/Prelim Uniform Tests in maturity groups 6, 7, and 8. All these lines have resistance to southern root-knot nematode and race 3 of SCN. Based on the performance of these lines in 2020 tests, top performing lines will be submitted for approval of release or advanced to a subsequent year of testing.

3) New herbicide tolerance technologies, RR2 Xtend and Enlist E3
With assistance from Innovation Gateway, we accessed to RR2 Xtend (Bayer) and Enlist E3 technologies (Corteva) in spring 2019. We have made 15 crosses with our best elite lines in the summer of 2019 and are in the process to perform backcrossing these new traits into our top elite lines.

4) Soybean pipeline materials
Over 10,000 rows of lines at different generations were planted for evaluation and selection in 2020.

Final Project Results

Updated November 29, 2023:

View uploaded report PDF file

The United Soybean Research Retention policy will display final reports with the project once completed but working files will be purged after three years. And financial information after seven years. All pertinent information is in the final report or if you want more information, please contact the project lead at your state soybean organization or principal investigator listed on the project.