The USDA Agricultural Research Service and the University of Tennessee Agricultural Experiment Station have announced the release of an important new soybean germplasm. The new genetic material has the potential to increase farmers' income by millions nationwide, but should be especially beneficial to producers in the Mid South.

Designated as JTN-5303, the new line is characterized by high seed yields and high levels of resistance to multiple races of soybean cyst nematode (SCN).

SCN is the most serious soybean pest in the United States. Dr. Prakash Arelli, a soybean breeder with the USDA-ARS Crop Genetics and Production Research Unit in Jackson says an SCN infestation can reduce a field's yield by as much as 30 percent.

“Current estimates say American farmers' earnings are reduced by soybean cyst nematodes by as much as $1.1 billion annually,”
Arelli said. He notes that aggressive nematode populations
have been identified in the Mid South.

Soybean cyst nematode cysts can be loose in the soil (above) or attached to a root (below). Photos courtesy of USDA-ARS.

The new soybean line, which was jointly developed by the USDA-ARS and UT Agricultural Experiment Station, is also highly resistant to potentially devastating and expensive fungal diseases including stem canker and frogeye leaf spot. It is moderately resistant to sudden death syndrome and experiences lower degrees of disease severity due to charcoal rot.

JTN-5303 is a maturity group V soybean that is well adapted to production in the Mid South, which has more acreage planted with soybeans than any other row crop.

The scientists developed the new line by combining genes from different sources of SCN resistance. "We used classical breeding techniques to transfer SCN resistance genes into high-yielding soybeans," said Dr. Vince Pantalone, lead researcher with the UT Soybean Breeding and Genetics Program and an associate professor in the UT Department of Plant Sciences.
Pantalone, Arelli, Fred Allen, a UT professor of plant sciences, and Alemu Mengistu, with the USDA-ARS in Jackson, collaborated to develop the new germplasm.

JTN-5303 seeds will be used by breeders in developing and commercializing new cultivars. They will be maintained by the USDA-ARS Crop Genetics and Production Research Unit in Jackson for five years. Small quantities of seed can be requested until supplies are exhausted.

The UT Soybean Breeding and Genetics Program is well recognized. Two of the varieties developed by the university are so productive and well-adapted to the Mid South, Southeast, and Mid Atlantic that they were named check varieties for the USDA Southern Uniform Testing Program. The USDA program allows breeders to identify and release better performing varieties for the region.

The two check varieties developed by UT, 5601T and 5002T, replaced Hutcheson and Manokin, in 2003 and 2004 respectively. Both Hutcheson and Manokin served as the USDA checks and have been household words in the soybean industry for the previous decade.

New Soybean Resists Nematodes and Pathogens

ARS News Service
Agricultural Research Service, USDA
Jim Core, (301) 504-1619, jcore@ars.usda.gov

High seed yield and unique resistance to nematodes and several diseases are the key qualities of new soybean lines developed by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and the Tennessee Agricultural Experiment Station in Knoxville.

The release of soybean lines JTN-5303 and JTN-5503 was announced today in Jackson, Tennessee, during a ceremony hosted jointly by ARS and the experiment station.

According to Prakash R. Arelli, a geneticist at the ARS Nematology Research Unit in Jackson, the new lines have broad resistance to multiple races of soybean cyst nematode (SCN). This is the most destructive soybean pest in the United States, causing an annual estimated loss of $1.1 billion.

JTN-5303 is a cross between the cultivars Caviness and Anand, while JTN-5503 is a cross between Fowler and Manokin. Traditional breeding techniques and marker-assisted selection were used to track resistance genes. Both lines have yields significantly higher than the popular cultivars Hartwig, Fowler and Anand, and have Hartwig-type resistance to widespread nematode populations.

Both lines were also selected for resistance to several fungal pathogens, including sudden death syndrome, stem canker, and frogeye leaf spot, with moderate resistance to charcoal rot. Previous lines have never had this unique combination of resistance to both SCN and pathogens.

The new releases are in Maturity Group V. Maturity groups are used to designate which varieties are best suited for production in specific geographic regions. The new lines are well adapted to production in the Mid South.

Arelli developed the new lines with Vince Pantalone and Fred Allen, geneticists at the University of Tennessee. They were assisted by ARS scientists Lawrence Young, Arelli's research leader, and Alemu Mengistu, a soybean pathologist.

These lines are expected to be ideal choices for breeders for use as parents in developing cultivars in early maturity groups that reduce soybean yield losses and reduce the need for pesticides.

ARS is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific research agency.
 

Nuevas líneas de soya tienen resistencia a los nematodos y patógenos

Servicio Noticiero del Servicio de Investigación Agrícola (ARS siglas en inglés)
Departamento de Agricultura (USDA siglas en inglés)
Jim Core, (301) 504-1619, jcore@ars.usda.gov

Los rendimientos altos y una resistencia única a nematodos y varias enfermedades son las características claves de nuevas líneas de soya desarrolladas por el Servicio de Investigación Agrícola (ARS) y la Estación de Tennessee de Experimentos Agrícolas en Knoxville, Tennessee.

El lanzamiento de las líneas JTN-5303 y JTN-5503 fue anunciado hoy en Jackson, Tennessee, durante una ceremonia albergada conjuntamente por ARS y la estación agrícola.

Según Prakash R. Arelli, un genetista en la Unidad de Investigación de Nematología mantenida por ARS en Jackson, las nuevas líneas tienen una amplia resistencia a cepas múltiples de los nematodos de los quistes de la soya (SCN por sus siglas en inglés). Esta es la plaga más destructora de soyas en EE.UU., causando pérdidas estimadas de 1,1 mil millones de dólares anualmente.

JTN-5303 es un cruce de las variedades 'Caviness' y 'Anand', mientras JTN-5503 es un cruce de las variedades 'Fowler' y 'Manokin'. Las técnicas tradicionales de crianza y la selección asistida por marcadores fueron usadas para encontrar los genes que proveen la resistencia. Ambas líneas producen rendimientos significativamente más altos que los de los cultivares populares 'Hartwig', 'Fowler' y 'Anand'. Las líneas también tienen una resistencia igual a 'Hartwig' a las poblaciones extensas de nematodos.

Los investigadores seleccionaron las líneas para su resistencia a varios patógenos fungales, incluyendo el síndrome de la muerte repentina de la soya, el cancro del tallo, y la mancha en ojo de sapo. También tienen resistencia moderada a la podredumbre carbonosa de soya. Líneas previas no han tenido esta combinación única de resistencia al SCN y los patógenos.

Los lanzamientos nuevos son en el Grupo de Madurez V. Los grupos de madurez se usan para indicar cuáles de las variedades son apropiadas para producción en una área geográfica específica. Las nuevas líneas son bien adaptadas para producción en la región del Medio Sur.

Arelli desarrolló las nuevas líneas junto con Vince Pantalone y Fred Allen, quienes son genetistas en la Universidad de Tennessee. Otros participantes en el proyecto fueron Lawrence Young, el líder de investigaciones en el laboratorio donde trabaja Arelli, y Alemu Mengistu, un patólogo de soya con ARS.

Se espera que estas nuevas líneas serán selecciones ideales para los cultivadores de nuevas variedades. Ellos pueden usar estas líneas como padres en el desarrollo de variedades en grupos de madurez temprana para reducir pérdidas de rendimientos y también reducir la necesidad de pesticidas.

ARS es la agencia principal de investigaciones científicas del Departamento de Agricultura de EE.UU.