Location: Soybean and Nitrogen Fixation Research
Project Number: 6070-21220-070-049-A
Project Type: Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Oct 1, 2023
End Date: Sep 30, 2024
Objective:
1. Germplasm and cultivar development: a) Develop and release drought-resilient germplasm and high yielding varieties.
2. Incorporate high oleic acid and high protein genes into elite drought-resilient breeding stock.
3. Gene discovery and genetic marker development: a) Identify and incorporate newly discovered drought tolerance genes (slow wilting and beneficial root traits) into high-yielding backgrounds.
4. Improve drought screening and selection.
Approach:
Advanced yield trials (MG4 and 5) comprising of about 40 advanced breeding lines will be evaluated for drought tolerance and yield. Drought Cooperative Tests which will be conducted in multiple locations under rainfed and irrigated field conditions. 100 new commercial varieties developed by the different seed companies will be evaluated for slow-wilting traits. About 400 diverse exotic soybeans of MG III-V will be evaluated for canopy-wilting. Identified exotic soybeans with high tolerance to drought stress will be used as germplasm (parents) for crossing with the elite cultivated soybeans.
New crosses will be made between high yielding soybeans and lines with high oleic acid and high protein.
Field evaluation (phenotyping) of new mappling population (s) (about 200 segregating lines) derivered from drought tolerant lines and drought susceptible lines for slow wilting traits. Using the field phenotyping data and genotyping data, QTL analysis will be performed to detect new genes controlling drought tolerance (slow wilting traits). The ultimate goal is to transfer new genes (through crossing) to the high-yielding elite soybean lines to improve drought tolerance.
High throughput technology (drone technology) will be employed for phenotyping canopy wilting trait in the tests of exotic soybeans, mapping populations and yield trials.
