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ARS Home » Plains Area » Fort Collins, Colorado » Center for Agricultural Resources Research » Soil Management and Sugarbeet Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #311377
Title: USDA-ARS sugarbeet releases and breeding over the last 20 years

Author
item Panella, Leonard
item Campbell, Larry
item Eujayl, Imad
item Lewellen, Robert
item McGrath, Jon

Submitted to: Journal of Sugar Beet Research
Publication Type: Literature Review
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/15/2015
Publication Date: 7/20/2015
Citation: Panella, L.W., Campbell, L.G., Eujayl, I.A., Lewellen, R.T., Mcgrath, J.M. 2015. USDA-ARS sugarbeet releases and breeding over the last 20 years. Journal of Sugar Beet Research. DOI: 10.5274/jsbr.52.1.22.

Interpretive Summary: In 1995, Devon Doney published a comprehensive list of USDA ARS germplasm releases, breeding lines, and hybrids that had been described in the literature up to that date. Doney’s summary has been quite useful in documenting the wide range of activities that resulted in useful germplasm resources as well as defining actual germplasm that has contributed to a sustained and profitable sugar beet industry. This report includes Doney’s summary tables, as well as updates and extends the list of germplasm resources released over the past 20 years. The purpose and focus of the ARS public breeding effort has changed over the last 75 years from developing and releasing open pollinated cultivars and then hybrid cultivars, until today, where public breeding focuses on pre-breeding of enhanced germplasm. What has not changed is the close collaboration that the ARS public plant breeders have with private industry breeders. This reports details the breadth of germplasm enhancement activities of the five ARS locations currently releasing enhanced germplasm (East Lansing, MI; Fargo, ND; Fort Collins, CO; Kimberly, ID; Salinas, CA). It places these activities in a broader context than often communicated in formal germplasm release notices or germplasm registration articles. Recent germplasm releases are freely available from their developers through the USDA-ARS National Plant Germplasm System. Some of the older germplasm described here may not be directly available, however much of this germplasm has been the foundation of current enhanced germplasm and the genetic resources related to particular traits are widely deployed. New efforts to expand this germplasm base are a hallmark of current work at each of the five locations.

Technical Abstract: In 1995, Devon Doney published a comprehensive list of USDA ARS germplasm releases, breeding lines, and hybrids that had been described in the literature up to that date. Doney’s summary has been quite useful in documenting the wide range of activities that resulted in useful germplasm resources as well as defining actual germplasm that has contributed to a sustained and profitable sugar beet industry. This report includes Doney’s summary tables, as well as updates and extends the list of germplasm resources released over the past 20 years. The purpose and focus of the ARS public breeding effort has changed over the last 75 years from developing and releasing open pollinated cultivars and then hybrid cultivars, until today, where public breeding focuses on pre-breeding of enhanced germplasm. What has not changed is the close collaboration that the ARS public plant breeders have with private industry breeders. This reports details the breadth of germplasm enhancement activities of the five ARS locations currently releasing enhanced germplasm (East Lansing, MI; Fargo, ND; Fort Collins, CO; Kimberly, ID; Salinas, CA). It places these activities in a broader context than often communicated in formal germplasm release notices or germplasm registration articles. Recent germplasm releases are freely available from their developers through the USDA-ARS National Plant Germplasm System. Some of the older germplasm described here may not be directly available, however much of this germplasm has been the foundation of current enhanced germplasm and the genetic resources related to particular traits are widely deployed. New efforts to expand this germplasm base are a hallmark of current work at each of the five locations.