Location: Crop Genetics Research
2020 Annual Report
Accomplishments
1. First report of soybean lines combining the soybean cyst nematode resistance of ‘Hartwig’ with that of exotic Plant Introduction PI567516C. Three lines developed and released by ARS researchers in Jackson, Tennessee, include JTN-5316, JTN-5416 and JTN-5516 are in maturity group V and provide breeders with parent material containing more durable resistance from both sources, a combination not currently available in soybean cultivars grown in the USA. Yields range from 45 bushels per acre to 48 bushels per acre. These are excellent choices of parent material for breeders, and growers who want to grow conventional soybeans will be the beneficiaries.
2. Contributed to release of Roundup Ready cultivar with improved oil content and disease resistance. Soybean growers are confronted with challenges to control various soybean diseases that cause economic losses to their yield but also have a high demand to improve soybean oil and preference for taller soybean plants with early maturity. In order to fulfill the growers’ needs, ARS researchers in Jackson, Tennessee, worked with a team of researchers led by soybean breeders from the University of Missouri worked together and the University of Missouri ultimately released cultivar S14-15146GT to meet these goals. S14-15146GT was evaluated in multiple environments, including the ARS location in Jackson, Tennessee, that identified disease resistance. This cultivar not only is an early maturity cultivar but is also contains the first-generation of Roundup Ready trait, which is no longer patented and seeds containing it may be saved for subsequent years in certain instances. This cultivar has high oil content, broad disease resistance package and wide adaptation that make it an excellent choice for southern soybean growers. It is also a suitable alternative for farmers who want to grow and save seeds of glyphosate-tolerant soybean cultivar.
3. Grouping of frogeye isolates by their aggressiveness. Frogeye leaf spot is a fungal disease of soybean that causes significant yield loss to growers. Soybean growers are challenged by natural variation in the pathogen population, which can impact their ability to effectively manage the disease. ARS researchers in Jackson, Tennessee, collected eighty-three fungus isolates from the U.S., China and Brazil were infected using 12 soybean lines that could differentiate infections. Based on disease severity measurement, the isolates were classified into five groups and were named ‘Pathogenicity Groups’ (one to five). This grouping represented the aggressiveness and diversity of these isolates. Such grouping has at least three important uses: (1) as a mechanism for assessing and documenting changes among field isolates and making specific management recommendations, (2) for use by plant pathologists and soybean breeders to screen and identify resistant cultivars/germplasms, and (3) as an aid to making management recommendations to growers. The system could widely be adopted by soybean industry, academia and extension workers.
Review Publications
Mengistu, A., Ray, J.D., Kelly, H.M., Lin, B., Yu, H., Smith, J.R., Arelli, P.R., Bellaloui, N. 2019. Pathotype grouping of Cercospora sojina isolates on soybean and their sensitivity to QoI fungicides. Plant Disease. 104:373-380. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-02-19-0368-RE.
Chen, P., Shannon, G., Scaboo, A.M., Crisel, M., Smothers, S.L., Clubb, M.W., Selves, S.W., Vieira, C.C., Ali, L.M., Nguyen, H.T., Li, Z., Bond, J.P., Meinhardt, C.G., Klepadlo, M., Li, S., Mengistu, A., Robbins, R.T. 2020. Registration of ‘S14-15146GT’ soybean as a high-yielding RR1 cultivar with high oil content and broad disease resistance and adaptation. Journal of Plant Registrations. 14(1):35-42. https://doi.org/10.1002/plr2.20018.
Nouri, A., Lee, J., Yin, X., Saxton, A.M., Tyler, D.D., Sykes, V.R., Arelli, P. 2019. Crop species in no-tillage summer crop rotations affect soil quality and yield in an Alfisol. Geoderma. 345 :51-62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2019.02.026.
Singh, S., Nouri, A., Singh, S., Anapalli, S.S., Lee, S., Arelli, P.R., Jagadamma, S. 2019. Soil organic carbon and aggregation in response to thirty-nine years of tillage management in the southeastern U.S. Soil and Tillage Research. 197:1-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2019.104523.
Bellaloui, N., McClure, A.M., Mengistu, A., Abbas, H.K. 2020. Influences of agricultural practices, environment, and cultivar differences on soybean seed protein, oil, sugars, and amino acids. Plants. 9(3),378. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants9030378.
Rambani, A., Pantalone, V., Yang, S., Rice, H., Song, Q., Mazarei, M., Arelli, P.R., Meksem, K., Stewart, N., Hewezi, T. 2020. Identification of introduced and stably inherited DNA methylation variants in soybean associated with soybean cyst nematode parasitism. New Phytologist. 227(1):168-184. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.16511.
