Location: Crop Genetics Research
Project Number: 6066-21220-016-025-A
Project Type: Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Oct 1, 2024
End Date: Aug 31, 2025
Objective:
Our goal is to increase soybean value for the entire value chain by selection of soybean with consistent higher levels of protein and excellent yield that will aid in the development of commercial soybean lines with an improved nutritional bundle. To achieve this goal public soybean breeders need multi-location multi-year data to support the release of lines. Private seed company breeders need data to select public lines to be licensed for sale to farmers and/or used in their breeding programs. The Uniform Soybean Tests provide objective data on yield, agronomics, seed composition (protein, oil, fatty acids and oligosaccharides [sugars]), pest reaction and disease reaction to facilitate these decisions. This will provide high yield, higher protein soybean varieties for U.S. soybean farmers that directly increases their profitability. The specfic objective of this project is to perform fatty acid analysis of seed oil on selected lines and cultivars submitted to the Uniform Soybean Tests - Northern Region and Uniform Soybean Tests, Southern States.
Approach:
Cooperator will analyze seed of experimental lines and selected checks produced in the Uniform Soybean Tests for fatty acids in seed oil. Seed oil will be extracted and analyzed using a capillary gas chromatograph analyzed for Northern Region and Uniform Soybean Tests, Southern States (>1000 samples). Percent palmitic, stearic, oleic, linoleic, and linolenic acid content in the oil will be sent to he Agency for further analysis and inclusion in the annual report for the Uniform Test program. The data and results will be shared with program participants to inform decisions about which line(s) to include in further testing and development efforts in their respective breeding programs.