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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Stoneville, Mississippi » Crop Genetics Research » Research » Research Project #447900

Research Project: National USDA Uniform Soybean Tests / Soybean Cyst Nematode Screening

Location: Crop Genetics Research

Project Number: 6066-21220-016-024-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 specific objective of this project is to perform soybean cyst nematode screens on selected lines and cultivars submitted to the Uniform Soybean Tests - Northern Region.

Approach:
The cooperator will screen selected lines and cultivars from the 2025 Uniform Soybean Test, Northern Region (<100 entries) for reaction to soybean cyst nematode. Cooperator will establish greenhouse tests to evaluate the reaction of these lines to one population of soybean cyst nematode. Female nematodes will be counted and a female index will be calculated. The data and rating for resistance will be returned to the Agency for 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.