Pioneer
Hi-Bred International, Inc. is set to release a new
soybean variety that will provide Southern growers with
protection against multiple races of soybean cyst nematodes
(SCN) without sacrificing yields. This offers substantial
benefits to growers because annual yield losses in soybeans
due to SCN have been estimated at about $1.5 billion in the
U.S. alone.
The Pioneer® brand soybean variety 95M60,
developed through the company's proprietary molecular marker
technology, will be in production this summer and available
for purchase in the fall.
"This is a breakthrough for farmers in the
South," says Dr. Tim Foley, Pioneer's research director for
southern United States. "Farmers needed a good,
high-yielding variety with multirace SCN resistance."
"Resistance to SCN races 1, 2, 3, 5 and 14
has been confirmed with 95M60. A change in the nematode
spectrum in Southern fields created a need for this type of
multirace resistance," adds Foley.
"For many growers, it's no longer a
traditional race 3 situation," he says. "We are seeing more
and more nematode races that are difficult to control. For
many years, SCN resistance was used to control the
predominant race in a field, but by controlling the
principal race, other races have become more prevalent."
Soybean breeding usually carries tradeoffs
between resistance traits and yield potential. The
challenge for breeders has been to broaden the SCN
resistance package without an accompanying decline in
yields. Pioneer researchers addressed this problem by using
their exclusive molecular markers to select for a multigenic
SCN resistance package. Markers are simply pieces of DNA
that are associated with genes of interest, explains Foley.
Selecting for resistance markers makes the breeding process
both faster and more efficient.
"It's like using a fish finder to enable you
to go to where the fish are," he says. "You can focus on
the 5 percent of the lines that have the full resistance
package, not the 95 percent that don't."
Pioneer applied its patented SCN molecular
marker technology to develop 95M60.
"We used those markers to ensure we had the
genes required for multirace resistance and focused our
field-testing efforts on identifying superior yield
performance," says Foley. "We stacked the deck and were
able to come up with all face cards."
The new variety will be an excellent fit in
Southern fields, he adds.
"In addition to multirace SCN resistance,
95M60 has a couple of other traits that are beneficial and
unique," says Foley. "It has good root-knot nematode
resistance and very strong soybean aphid antibiosis."
Growers are encouraged to check out 95M60 in
Pioneer plot trials across the South this summer.
Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., a
subsidiary of DuPont, is the world's leading source of
customized solutions for farmers, livestock producers and
grain and oilseed processors. With headquarters in Des
Moines, Iowa, Pioneer provides access to advanced plant
genetics, crop protection solutions and quality crop systems
to customers in nearly 70 countries. DuPont is a science
company. Founded in 1802, DuPont puts science to work by
creating sustainable solutions essential to a better, safer,
healthier life for people everywhere. Operating in more
than 70 countries, DuPont offers a wide range of innovative
products and services for markets including agriculture,
nutrition, electronics, communications, safety and
protection, home and construction, transportation and
apparel.
® Registered trademark of Pioneer Hi-Bred
International, Inc.
