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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Raleigh, North Carolina » Soybean and Nitrogen Fixation Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #410469
Research Project: Exploiting Genetic Diversity to Improve Environmental Resilience, Seed Composition, Yield, and Profitability of U.S. Soybean

Location: Soybean and Nitrogen Fixation Research

Title: Registration of Goliath LJ and Colossus LJ forage soybean cultivars with the long juvenile trait and glyphosate tolerance

Author
item Fallen, Benjamin
item BAKER, SCOTT - Specialty Seed Incorporated
item SHIPE, EMERSON - Clemson University

Submitted to: Journal of Plant Registrations
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/11/2024
Publication Date: 3/7/2025
Citation: Fallen, B.D., Baker, S., Shipe, E. 2025. Registration of Goliath LJ and Colossus LJ forage soybean cultivars with the long juvenile trait and glyphosate tolerance. Journal of Plant Registrations. 73 (4), 2289-2298. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.4c07467.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.4c07467

Interpretive Summary: Soybeans have a long history of being produced as a forage crop for grazing, hay, and silage. It wasn’t until the 1960s and 1970s when soybean production shifted from a forage to grain crop. Today, soybeans are primarily grown as a protein and oil-seed crop. However, soybean is still very desirable as a forage crop for feeding wildlife, which has grown in popularity in recent years. Although, most soybeans produced today for grain production are herbicide tolerant, most forage soybean varieties do not carry any herbicide resistance. Glyphosate is one of the very few herbicides that is not prohibited from being used on soybeans being harvested as forage. So, there is a need for the development of glyphosate tolerant soybean forage varieties. When selecting soybean forage varieties, it is important to consider maturity group because it indicates photoperiod response. Soybeans are a short-day photo-period sensitive crop which means an appropriate amount of day length is required to assure sufficient vegetative mass is achieved before reproductive growth. In addition, soybeans also have been shown to become less palatable as plants mature from vegetative to reproductive growth. Colossus LJ and Goliath LJ were developed as forage maturity group (MG) VII and MG VIII glyphosate-tolerant cultivars, respectively. Goliath LJ and Colossus LJ both exhibit the long juvenile trait (LJ), which can extend vegetative growth under short day growing conditions. Colossus LJ and Goliath LJ are excellent candidates for forage production because of their high biomass production, increased nutritional value and adaptation to a wide range of growing conditions.

Technical Abstract: Colossus LJ and Goliath LJ soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] cultivars were developed by the Clemson University Pee Dee Research and Extension Center in Florence, SC and released as forage maturity group (MG) VII and MG VIII glyphosate-tolerant cultivars, respectively. After release, both cultivars were licensed by Specialty Seed Incorporated, a company dedicated to providing premium wildlife food plot seed. Goliath LJ is an F5-derived single plant selection from a cross between SC98-1850 and SC01-785RR. Colossus LJ is a F4-derived line originating from a cross combination of SC98-1930 x SC00-892RR. Goliath LJ and Colossus LJ both exhibit the long juvenile trait (LJ), which can extend vegetative growth under short day growing conditions. Colossus LJ and Goliath LJ were evaluated in yield trials as MG VII and MG VIII breeding lines, respectively, over 7 years in 46 environments. When compared to grain and forage type soybean cultivars across three SC environments, 2016-2018, Colossus LJ (3107kg ha-1) and Goliath LJ (2925kg ha-1) yielded significantly similar to the grain mean (2983kg ha-1) and significantly higher than the forage mean (2623kg ha-1). Plant heights of Colossus LJ (102cm) and Goliath LJ (107cm) were significantly higher than the grain mean (78cm) and significantly similar to the forage mean (109cm). Forage nutritive value analysis showed crude protein of Colossus LJ and Goliath LJ was significantly higher than the forage and grain mean measured across two growth stages. In addition, both lines exhibited a significantly lower acid detergent fiber (ADF) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) in the leaf and pod. Colossus LJ and Goliath LJ are excellent candidates for forage production because of their high biomass production, increased nutritional value and adaptation to a wide range of growing conditions.