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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Raleigh, North Carolina » Soybean and Nitrogen Fixation Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #188029
Title: REGISTRATION OF NC114 AND NC115 SMALL-SEEDED SOYBEAN GERMPLASM LINES

Author
item Carter Jr, Thomas
item Burton, Joseph
item Fountain, Myron
item Villagarcia, Margarita
item BOWMAN, DARYL - NC STATE UNIV

Submitted to: Crop Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/6/2006
Publication Date: 1/15/2007
Citation: Carter Jr, T.E., Burton, J.W., Fountain, M.O., Villagarcia, M.R., Bowman, D.T. 2007. Registration of nc114 and nc115 small-seeded soybean germplasm lines. Crop Sci. 47, p. 450.

Interpretive Summary: ‘NC114 and NC115 ’ small-seeded soybean germplasms were developed by the USDA-ARS because of their potential as parents in the breeding of natto soyfoods varieties for the Japanese export market. NC114 and NC115 are adapted to southern USA and released as parental material for development of soyfoods cultivars. They are the first USA release to the public of determinate group VI maturity soybean germplasm lines with small seed. NC114 is an F4-derived selection from the cross of two USDA small-seeded parents, soybean breeding line NTCPR90-143 and cultivar ‘Pearl’. The parents of NTCPR90-143 were ‘Gasoy 17’ and ‘Vance’. NC115 is an F4–derived plant selection from the cross of two small-seeded USDA soybean breeding lines, EBH91-6 and N89-1284. EBH91-6 is a sub-line selected from Pearl and is phenotypically identical to Pearl. N89-1284 was developed from the cross of Essex and Vance. During 1998 – 2001, NC114 and NC115 were evaluated in replicated trials in NC for yield and other agronomic traits, using two environments each year. The 100-seed weights for NC114 and NC115 were each 8.5 g, and both were much smaller than ‘Dillon’ (15.9 g) or ‘Brim’ (13.9 g. The seed yields of NC114 and NC115 were equal to Brim and Dillon, averaging 2,580 kg ha-1). In 2002, NC114 and NC115 were evaluated at seven locations in the USDA-ARS Southern Region Uniform Preliminary Group VI Test (Paris, 2002). The 100-seed weights for NC114 and NC115 were 7.4 and 7.9 g, respectively. Both had much smaller 100-seed weights than Dillon (15.4 g) or ‘NC-Roy’ (13.9 g). NC114 yielded 222 kg ha-1 less than NC115 (2,264 kg ha-1), and both yielded less than Dillon (2653 kg ha-1) or NC-Roy (2,694 kg ha-1). During 2002 –2004, NC114 and NC115 were evaluated in 14 environments of the North Carolina State University Official Variety Trials. Yield of NC114 (2,105 kg ha-1) was similar to NC115 (1,949 kg ha-1), and both yielded less than Dillon. NC114 and NC115 are mid group VI maturity as compared to Dillon, which is early group VI maturity, or to Brim and NC-Roy, which are late group VI maturity. NC114 and NC115 have narrow leaflets, white flowers, gray pubescence, tan pod wall color at maturity, and glossy yellow seeds with clear hila.

Technical Abstract: Soybean production in the Far East in the 1990’s, as in ancient times, is primarily for food. Chinese writings more than 2000 years ago refer to soybean as one of the five sacred food grains. In Japan, NATTO is an important soyfood eaten as a companion to rice and first popularized about 1000 AD. Noted for its strong fermented aroma and dark brown color, natto has quite a consumer following in modern Japan and many food companies compete for this lucrative market. Because of the high population in Japan, the country is not self sufficient in soybean production and pays handsomely for specialty beans which are produced abroad. For natto type specialty beans, Japanese buyers pay US farmers up to $6 per bushel above market price. Although US farmers are vitally interested in this lucrative market, growing the right variety for Japan’s needs has proven difficult. Most US grain soybeans are unsuited to the natto market. Dr. Carter has been working on this problem and has recently released two new germplasms, NC 114 and NC115, specifically to help US farmers compete in the Japanese natto market. They are the first USA release to the public of determinate group VI maturity soybean germplasm lines with small seed. The primary use of these germplasm will be as parental breeding stock to produce new NATTO type varieties for export.