Multipurpose utilization, including as rope, pulp, and filtration media, is what makes kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) special. This experiment was conducted to select elite pedigrees with high biomass production through backcrosses. The agronomic performance, fuel characteristics, and histological analysis of the elite lines were investigated at the BC₁F₂ generation in comparison with the Control. Significant differences were observed in 12 evaluations of variety and pedigrees. Five plants, including the two Controls (Jangdae and Hongma300) and three pedigrees, showed a large difference in the number of flowering days from July 5 to September 30. The plant height of BC100-10 (447 cm) was the highest among the genotypes. Regarding branch number, BC100-15 showed the best performance with 29 branches. Stem dry weight was found to be the lowest in Jangdea at 792 g, whereas BC100-17 showed the highest dry weight. Hongma did not set seeds owing to late flowering. However, with 34 g/plant on average, three elite lines had more seeds than Jangdae (16 g/plant), which are vulnerable to decay owing to viviparous germination. In the fuel characteristics analysis, the heating value of the three elite lines ranged from 4,510 to 4,930 kcal/kg, which was much higher than that of the two Controls (4,320 kcal/kg). The ash content analysis indicated the lowest value at 3.2% for the line BC100-10, which was similar to Korea’s 3^rd-grade. Based on the histological analysis of the stem, the pedigrees were close to Hongma. Taken together, these three elite lines would be useful as genetic resources for high biomass production.

Consumer demand for Triticale cultivars as a winter forage crop in Korea has been increasing because of its ability for high and stable yield. However, more than 10 years are required to develop new varieties with conventional breeding programs. A speed breeding system using long-day photoperiodic treatment has recently been suggested and applied in wheat and barley, but not in the triticale breeding program in Korea. To evaluate the availability of the established speed breeding system for triticale breeding programs in Korea, we used nine domestic triticale cultivars to investigate their growth characteristics under a 22 h photoperiod. The average days to heading (DTH) of the nine cultivars was 38 days, and Gwangyoung and Minpung showed the most delayed DTH at 42 days. Therefore, all nine triticale cultivars were able to shorten the growth duration under the tested photoperiod condition. One productive tiller and more than 10 seeds were obtained from each cultivar. The germination percentage was over 82% when the spikes were harvested 20 days after heading, dried, and chilled for a week to break dormancy. These results suggest that in Korea, the rapid generation advancement system with simple long-day photoperiodic treatment can be applied to triticale breeding programs to reduce the breeding time.

Three Brassica species, namely, Brassica rapa, B. nigra, and B. oleracea are considered economically important as they are grown for human consumption and biogas production. Like other crops facing agricultural constraints, selective crossing or hybridization in cruciferous vegetables has helped farmers to improve them. This study conducted a comparative evaluation across and within the species through cytogenetic analysis to provide fresh insights into their chromosome structures and evolutionary relationships. A new karyomorphological parameter confirmed symmetric karyotypes in all the accessions, thereby allowing for the depiction of the ancestral chromosome karyotype. Several lines of B. rapa, B. nigra, and B. oleracea were subjected to physical mapping using a fluorescence in situ hybridization technique to elucidate the chromosomal distribution of the two types of rDNAs. The signal number and distribution of 18S rDNA across the metaphase chromosomes of B. rapa accessions did not vary as compared to 5S rDNA, which was also observed in several lines of B. nigra. In contrast, the number and distribution of 5S rDNA loci across the chromosomes in several lines of B. oleracea were found to be more conserved than those corresponding to the 18S rDNA. Overall, this study revealed the evolutionary dynamics of rDNA, which may play an important role in shaping the chromosome karyotypes of Brassica species.

Rice is the most important staple food in Korea. Rice blast, caused by Magnaporthe oryzae, is one of the most devastating diseases in the rice-growing world and in Korea. Eighteen major blast resistance genes were screened in 33 leading Korean japonica varieties using 44 DNA markers. The 33 leading japonica varieties are cultivated in 659,642 ha (90.4%), and a variety of Samkwang is cultivated widely on a nation-wide scale. Four resistance genes, Pia, Pib, Pi19, and Pb1, were detected in 10-21 varieties, and the R-genes of Pii, Pish, Pita/Pita-2, Piz/Piz-t, Pi35, and Pi65(t), were present in 2-5 varieties. Five R-genes, Pit, Pi5, Pi9, pi21, and Pi40, were not detected in the Korean japonica rice varieties. A total of six varieties, two mid-late flowering varieties, Ilmi and Saeilmi, a medium flowering variety Gopum; and three early flowering varieties Jopyeong, Haedamssal, and Haedeul; were resistant to blast nursery screening over 12 years. A variety of Gopum harbored alleles for Piz/Piz-t, and three early flowering varieties, Jopyeong, Haedamssal, and Haedeul, had extensive loci of the multiple-gene family Piz/Piz-t, Pi9, and Pi40 on chromosome 6. Two mid-late flowering varieties, Ilmi and Saeilmi, harbored the Pita-2 gene, and Gopum had Pita. In the japonica rice breeding program, an effective means for enhancing stable resistance to blast would be introduced to 2-3 R genes among resistance genes Pit, Pi5, Pi9, pi21 and Pi40 which were not identified in Korean japonica rice varieties, and resistance genes Pita/Pita-2, Piz-t/Piz-5, to 2-3 R genes among and Pi20 that showed stable resistance in monogenic IRBL lines.

Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) is one of the most important crops with economic value as a source of protein and vegetable oil for human food and animal feed. In recent years, rapidly developed genome editing techniques have shown widespread application prospects for gene function studies and for improving important agronomic traits in many crops. Therefore, it is important to establish a highly efficient method for protoplast isolation and transient expression systems in soybeans. In this study, we established an efficient method for protoplast isolation and its application to transient gene expression in Korean soybean cultivars. The protoplasts were isolated from leaves, epicotyls, hypocotyls, cotyledons, and etiolated hypocotyls using various combinations of enzyme mixtures. We found that high-quality and large amounts of protoplasts were isolated from the etiolated hypocotyls when incubated for 8 h under conditions of 0.5% cellulase, 0.5% pectinase, and 1% viscozyme. In addition, we observed a high transfection efficiency of green fluorescent protein using etiolated hypocotyl protoplasts. Taken together, our protoplast isolation and transfection method is highly efficient and can be used for gene function and molecular analysis to better understand the biological and physiological processes in soybean.

To better understand the morphological variation in the 189 accessions of cultivated var. frutescens of Perilla crop preserved at the RDA-Genebank in South Korea, morphological characteristics were investigated using seven traits related to leaf quality. In the principal component analysis (PCA), the first and second principal components accounted for 28.9% and 19.7% of the total variance, respectively. In the first component, leaf color (QL1) and stem color (QL3) contributed positively, whereas the flowering period (QL5) and degree of pubescence (QL6) contributed in a negative manner. In the second component, QL5 and QL6 contributed positively, whereas the fragrance of plants (QL7) contributed negatively. The results of PCA showed that the 189 Perilla accessions were clearly divided into three groups based on the 1st axis (X-axis), except for some accessions. However, the Perilla accessions collected in South Korea and abroad did not show a clear geographical distribution between the collection areas. Correlation analysis among the seven traits of 189 Perilla accessions showed a positive correlation coefficient for the combination of QL1 and QL3, and QL5 and QL6, and a negative correlation for the combination of color of the reverse side of the leaf and QL6, and QL5 and QL7. Therefore, the results of this study will provide useful information for the selection of useful resources for the development of leafy vegetable varieties of the Perilla crop and the preservation and management of genetic resources of the Perilla crop preserved at the RDA-Genebank in South Korea.

Wheat transformation was first initiated in 1992, and several studies were conducted to increase its efficiency; however, a very low probability of less than 0.3% was achieved. In 2011, the EU Commission announced a new plant breeding technology that modifies the DNA of seeds and plant cells to develop new varieties with desired characteristics. With the commercialization of the CRISPR/Cas9 technology, a site-directed nuclease technology, the possibility of its application in agriculture has increased with the rapid development of the technology. Recently, genome editing studies have been conducted in wheat, and they have been used for the functional analysis of genes related to various agricultural traits. The wheat full-length genome information was released in the form of a draft sequence in 2018, belatedly in comparison to other crops owing to allohexaploidy and a large genome (17 Gb) size. The recent pre-harvest sprouting resistance wheat breeding material developed in Japan suggests that it is possible to rapidly develop breeding materials through precision breeding technology. Finally, it is necessary to systematically achieve the goal of optimizing agricultural traits of crops through precise breeding technology to increase the breeding accuracy of allohexaploid wheat and rapid genetic fixation using the reduction in generation technology.

Barley is an economically important cereal crop grown under diverse environmental conditions and ranked fourth in terms of production volume. Barley is a diploid self-fertilizing plant with seven chromosomes, and has a 5.1 Gbp genome with more than 80% repeat sequences. Whole genome re-sequencing (WGR) has provided substantial information on sequence variation distributed on all chromosomes, such as single nucleotide polymorphisms, insertions, and deletions, which are used in the development of DNA markers. In this study, we performed WGR to detect sequence variations among six Korean malting varieties. An average of 92,552 insertions and deletions (InDels) were detected in these varieties in comparison to the high-quality reference genome sequences. The InDel density of the six Korean malting varieties ranged from 17 to 19 InDel/1Mbp with an average of 18 InDel/1Mbp. No InDel could be detected in 193 regions in all chromosomes except chr. unassigned. One interval with high-density InDel, more than 150 InDel/1Mbp, was located on the 1H, 3H, 6H, and 7H chromosomes. A total of 145 InDel markers were developed using 225 large-InDel markers, longer than 50 bp. Seventeen large-InDel makers showed polymorphisms among 31 malting barley varieties. These 31 malting barley varieties were divided into four groups based on phylogenetic analysis. These results presented a development method of agarose-resolvable large-InDel markers using WGR. Seventeen polymorphic large-InDel markers were used to conserve and identify barley germplasms. This vast information on sequence variation in six Korean malting barleys could be used for the development of DNA markers and marker-assisted selection.

Wheat (Triticum aestivum) is one of the three major food crops, along with rice and corn, and is the second most consumed crop after rice in Korea. However, the domestic production of wheat is insufficient, and the self-sufficiency rate is recorded in single digits. As wheat has a large genome size of 17 Gbp, and contains many repeated nucleotide sequences, it is difficult to conduct breeding studies and genome-based breeding lags behind that of other crops. To overcome the above challenges, we constructed a wheat core collection using simple sequence repeat markers that are suitable for the domestic cultivation environment with excellent reproducibility. Genetic diversity and population structure were analyzed using a core collection. Agricultural traits were evaluated in the Korean wheat core collection. Single marker analysis was correlated with 21 agricultural traits to identify potential molecular markers. These results may be useful for wheat breeding programs in the precision breeding era.

Cymbidium ‘Sodam’, derived from a cross between ‘Baek Un’ and ‘Lapin Rose’ in 2000, was bred by the National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science, Rural Development Administration in 2015. After artificial crossing, 120 seedlings were obtained through in vitro seed germination and seedling acclimatization in a greenhouse. On the basis of mature plant characteristics, including flower color, plant size, leaf shape, flower stalk, and vigorous growth, three lines were initially selected. The first and second trials for characteristics were conducted from 2009 to 2014, which enabled confirmation of the stability and uniformity of the three lines. Amongst these, the final line, with the code ‘00-1023-20’, was selected as ‘Wongyuo F1-58.’ After evaluating consumer preferences, the line was subsequently named ‘Sodam’. This hybrid is a small- to medium-sized cultivar with more than 10 pink flowers per stalk and an average number of 3.8 stalks. The relatively compact flower has an incurved shape with a width and length of 6.0 and 5.0 cm, respectively. Furthermore, the plants have short erect stalks and leaves (length 51.7 and 69.5 cm, respectively), showing good properties with respect to potting. The flowers have a fragrance similar to that of the female parent ‘Baek Un’. ‘Sodam’ commences flowering in early December. The proliferative ability of ‘Sodam’ is comparable to that of the control cultivar, and it is anticipated that this will facilitate mass proliferation for commercial use (Registration No. 6749).

‘Miho’ (Milyang300) was developed as a processing rice by means of pedigree selection. ‘Milyang300’ has slightly opaque seeds with low amylose content (11.2%), unlike cultivars such as Baegjinju and Milky-queen, which have seeds with low amylose but are opaque. ‘Milyang300’ was selected and named ‘Miho’ in 2016. ‘Miho’ is a late-maturing ecotype with an average heading date of August 21^st. It shows mild resistance to leaf blast and strong resistance to rice stripe virus, and bacterial blight (K1-K3); however, it is susceptible to brown plant hopper infestation. The yield capacity of ‘Miho’ determined over 3 years of regional yield trials was 565 kg/10 a. In terms of processing properties, ‘Miho’ shows no significant differences in textural properties when stored for 6-48 h at 3℃ and -18℃. Moreover, the physical properties of ‘Miho’ remain unaltered during freeze-thaw processes. Thus, the low-amylose rice ‘Miho’ may be suitable for the production of refrigerated and frozen cooked rice (Registration No. 7656).

‘Joan’, a rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) F₁ hybrid cultivar suitable for producing cooking oil developed by the National Institute of Crop Science, is early maturing with characteristically high yield and oleic acid content. It was bred in 2009 by crossing the male sterile line ‘Mokpo-CGMS’ as the female parent with the restorer line ‘8630-B-6-5-3-6’ as the male parent. The average flowering and maturation dates of ‘Joan’ were April 10^th and June 1^st, respectively, 3 and 4 days earlier, respectively, than that of the control cultivar ‘Sunmang’. The yield of ‘Joan’ obtained in regional adaptation trials was 279 kg/10 a, which is 6% higher than that obtained for ‘Sunmang’. ‘Joan’ is resistant to stem rot disease and more tolerant to lodging than ‘Sunmang’. Moreover, the total oil content of ‘Joan’ is 44.5%, whereas the oleic acid content is 69.5%, which is 2.3% higher than that of ‘Sunmang’. However, erucic acid has not been detected. ‘Joan’ can be grown in paddy fields located in Jeollanam-do, Jeollabuk-do, Gyeongsangnam-do, and Jeju-do in Korea (Registration No. 6896).

‘Cheongmiin’ is a green seed-coated soybean cultivar developed from a cross between ‘Cheongjakong’ and ‘Daemang’ in 2002. The F₁ and F₂ populations were grown for 2 years, and promising lines were selected based on the pedigree method from generations F₃ to F₅. Preliminary and advanced yield trials were conducted from 2009 to 2010, and regional yield trials (RYTs) were conducted in eight regions from 2011 to 2013. ‘Cheongmiin’ is a determinate soybean with white flowers, green cotyledons, and spherical green seeds. The average flowering and maturing dates of ‘Cheongmiin’ were August 1^st and October 22^nd, respectively. In terms of quantitative characteristics, ‘Cheongmiin’ has a larger seed size (34.3 g/100-seed weight) than that of ‘Cheongdu1ho’ (24.5 g/100-seed weight), and has also been shown to be tolerant to lodging and pod shattering in the field in RYTs and oven drying tests, respectively. Furthermore, ‘Cheongmiin’ has been found to be resistant to bacterial pustules in the field and soybean mosaic viruses (G5H and G6H strains) in inoculation tests. The mean yield of ‘Cheongmiin’ in the RYTs was 272 kg/10 a, which was 4% higher than that of ‘Cheongdu1ho’. Given its large seed size and seed coat color, ‘Cheongmiin’ is expected to be highly useful for cooking with rice and for the preparation of rice cakes (Registration No. 7688).

‘Jonong’ is an early maturing whole crop silage (WCS) japonica rice cultivar characterized by a short growth duration and numerous spikelets. It was developed to enhance the adaptability of WCS rice to double-cropping systems. ‘Jonong’ is derived from a cross between ‘Binhae Col.#1’ and ‘Deuraechan’; ‘Binhae Col.#1’ is a semi-early maturing China rice germplasm with numerous spikelets on dense panicles, whereas ‘Deuraechan’ is a high-yielding japonica rice cultivar with numerous spikelets on long panicles. To diversify the genetic variation and shorten the breeding period, an anther culture method was applied to the F₁ plants. ‘Jonong’ was selected through the pedigree method, yield trials, and local adaptability tests, with a high selection pressure for short growth duration and high biomass. The average heading date of ‘Jonong’ was August 1^st, which is 11 days earlier than that of ‘Nokyang’, the standard cultivar for WCS rice. Moreover, the growth duration of ‘Jonong’ is the shortest among all Korean WCS rice cultivars. The culm length of ‘Jonong’ is 88 cm, which 4 cm longer than that of ‘Nokyang’ and the highest among all Korean early maturing rice cultivars. ‘Jonong’ has 149 spikelets per panicle, which is 30 more than that of ‘Nokyang’, and is the highest among all Korean early maturing rice cultivars. ‘Jonong’ exhibits stable premature heading and is tolerant to lodging. It is moderately resistant to leaf blast and resistant to the rice stripe virus. The feed value of ‘Jonong’ in terms of total digestible nutrients is good and comparable to that of ‘Nokyang’. Furthermore, compared with ‘Nokyang’, ‘Jonong’ shows a similar level of dry matter yield and a higher rough rice yield. Therefore, ‘Jonong’, an early maturing WCS japonica rice with short growth duration and numerous spikelets, would be suitable for cultivating in winter forage crop-rice double cropping systems (Registration No. 7274).

Hordeum vulgare ‘Heukbochal’, a naked waxy barley cultivar with a high anthocyanin content and black lemma has been developed from a cross between ‘Ginssalbori/Changyongjaelae’ and ‘Ginssalbori’ by the National Institute of Crop Science, RDA. It is a winter-type barley with a vernalization degree of Ⅳ, lax panicle with loose-type spike density, and long awn type. The average heading date of ‘Heukbochal’ is April 19^th, which is the same as that of the control cultivar ‘Saechalssalbori’. It has a long culm of 79 cm and a long spike length of 7.0 cm, with 54 grains per spike and a 1000-grain weight of 30.4 g. Although compared with ‘Saechalssalbori’, ‘Heukbochal’ shows weaker winter hardiness, it is characterized by better resistance to barley yellow mosaic virus. The grains of ‘Heukbochal’ showed a similar protein content (10.4%) to ‘Saechalssalbori’ but a lower beta-glucan content (5%) than that of ‘Saechalssalbori’. Furthermore, the grains of ‘Heukbochal’ have an anthocyanin content of 0.116±0.005 mg/bran g, which is 1.9 times higher than that of ‘Heuknuri’ (0.062±0.007 mg/bran g), another non-waxy naked barley cultivar with a black lemma. Additionally, its average grain yield is 4.02 ton/ha in paddy fields, which is 5% lower than that of ‘Saechalssalbori’. ‘Heukbochal’ is the first developed naked waxy barley cultivar with a high anthocyanin content and black lemma; therefore, we anticipate its cultivation in Korea (Registration No. 8194).