‘Alchanheukchal’ is a single-cross hybrid waxy corn cultivar developed by using the inbred line ‘KBW16’ as the seed parent and ‘KBW23’ as the pollen parent. Yield trials were conducted in 2013 and 2015 followed by regional adaptability tests at six locations over three years (2018-2020). Recognized for its superior performance, it was designated as a new variety by the NICS in 2020. ‘Alchanheukchal’ contains 32.9 μg 100 g^-1 of anthocyanins, resulting in black-colored ears and exhibiting an intermediate ear shape. Its silking period was 74 days, equivalent to that of the standard variety ‘Ilmichal’. The ear length was 19.3 cm, similar to ‘Ilmichal’, while the kernel set rate was 94%, which was lower than that of ‘Ilmichal’. In terms of disease and pest resistance, including southern rust, northern corn leaf blight, and corn borer, as well as lodging resistance, ‘Alchanheukchal’ was comparable to ‘Ilmichal’. The number of ears and ear weight per 10a were 6,336 ears and 1,136 kg, respectively, which indicates a higher ear number but lower ear weight than ‘Ilmichal’. The 100-kernel weight was 27.7 g, smaller than that of ‘Ilmichal’. In sensory evaluation tests, the overall acceptability score was 4.7, which was lower than that of ‘Ilmichal’. The highest seed production efficiency was observed when the planting ratio of the seed parent to pollen parent was 2:1. However, because the silking date of the pollen parent occurred later, it was considered necessary to perform staggered sowing (Registration No. 10033).

‘Heugho’, a new cultivar developed in 2014, is a two-rowed hulled barley with black grains that was selected among doubled haploid lines produced by anther culture from a backcross between two cultivars. Black barley, which has black grains, was used as the donor parent and ‘Hopum’, which has an elite genotype, was used as the recurrent parent. Agricultural characteristics of the new cultivar such as heading date, lodging and disease resistance were similar to those of ‘Hopum’. The yield was approximately 3.8 ton/ha, which was also comparable to that of ‘Hopum’. In terms of grain quality, the thousand grain weights of ‘Heugho’ and ‘Hopum’ were similar at 44.9 g and 41.4 g, respectively. The malt quality of both cultivars, which was mainly determined by extract, diastatic power, Kolbach index, and soluble protein content, were also similar. The total polyphenol contents of ‘Heugho’ and ‘Hopum’ malts were 0.274% and 0.244%, and the anthocyanin contents were 37.1 µg/g and 16.5 µg/g, respectively. After malting, ‘Heugho’ had high antioxidant capacity, making it a functional food source for beer as well as tea. We expect that ‘Heugho’ will contribute to farmer’s income and regional economic activation associated with the barley processing industry(Registration No. 8239).

‘Heukchan’ (Arachis hypogaea L.) is a medium-sized grain and black-skin peanut variety that was developed at the Department of Southern Area Crop Science, National Institute of Crop Science in 2019. ‘Heukchan’ was developed from a single cross between black-skin accession ‘Heukhwasaeng’ and Virginia-type elite line ‘HP825’. ‘Heukchan’ has short ellipse-shaped grains and a dark-purple seed coat. It also has a shorter main stem and branch length (39 cm and 44 cm, respectively) than those of ‘Daekwang’ (50 cm and 61 cm, respectively) which resulted in higher tolerance to lodging. On average, the number of matured pods per plant of ‘Heukchan’ was 61 and its shelling ratio was 74%. The 100-seed weight of ‘Heukchan’ was 64 g which was lower than that of ‘Daekwang’ (85 g). In the regional adaptation test (from 2017 to 2019), the average grain yield of ‘Heukchan’ was 4.56 tons⋅ha^-1 showing a 5% higher yield than ‘Daekwang’. The seed coat of ‘Heukchan’ contains two types of anthocyanins, cyanidin 3-sophoroside and cyanidin 3-sambubioside, which are not found in ‘Daekwang’. We analyzed the chemical properties of cooked rice containing ‘Heukchan’ with an increasing substitution ratio (5, 10, 20, and 40%); minerals and antioxidative activity as well as protein and unsaturated fatty acids were found to be significantly increased in the rice mixed with ‘Heukchan’. This new variety highlights the novel use of black-skin peanuts for mixing with rice to enhance nutrition and functionality (Registration No. 9195).

‘Cheongja5’ is a black seed coat soybean cultivar developed from crossing ‘Milyang181’ and ‘YS1886 (Cheongdu1/Tanbaguro)’ in 2007. Promising lines were selected using the pedigree method from F₃ to F₅. The preliminary and advanced yield trials were conducted in 2013 and 2014, respectively. Regional yield trials (RYT) were conducted in seven regions from 2015 to 2017. ‘Cheongja5’ has a determinate growth habit, oval leaflet shape, brown pubescence, and white flowers. The seed of ‘Cheongja5’ has a black seed coat color with green cotyledon. Flowering and maturing dates were Aug. 3 and Oct. 24, respectively. Regarding the quantitative characteristics, ‘Cheongja5’ has large seed size (37.0 g/100-seed weight) and more pods than ‘Cheongja3’. ‘Cheongja5’ was tolerant to pod shattering in field and indoor RYT tests. ‘Cheongja5’ was resistant to bacterial pustule in the field and soybean mosaic virus (strains G6H and G7H) in the inoculation test. Although its seed quality-related characteristics were almost similar to those of ‘Cheongja3’, it contained more anthocyanin which is a main functional component of black soybean. The mean yield of ‘Cheongja5’ in the RYTs was 343 kg/10 a which was 30% higher than that of ‘Cheongja3’. ‘Cheongja5’ is expected to be widely cultivated as a material for making soy-food that uses black soybean because of its large seed size and high yield potential (Registration No. 7687).

A black soybean cultivar ‘Gyeongheukcheong’ was developed by Gyeongsangbuk-do Agricultural Research and Extension Services. ‘Gyeongheukcheong’ was selected from a cross between ‘RCS640’ and ‘Geomjeongsaeol’ in 2011. The cultivar was evaluated in multiple performance and yield trials in seven locations from 2017 to 2019. ‘Gyeongheukcheong’ has a gray pubescence, light brown pod, and dark green cotyledon, whereas ‘Cheongja 3’ has a brown pubescence, brown pod, and light green cotyledon. The seed weight and maturity of ‘Gyeongheukcheong’ was similar to that of ‘Chungja 3’. ‘Gyeongheukcheong’ was resistant to soybean mosaic virus (strain G6H), moderately resistant to bacterial pustule (caused by Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. glycines), and resistant to root rot. Total chlorophyll content (sum of chlorophyll a and b) in the green cotyledon of ‘Gyeongheukcheong’ was 48.0 μg/g, which was higher than that of ‘Cheongja 3’ (30.1 μg/g). The regional yield trial showed that ‘Gyeongheukcheong’ had a similar or significantly higher average yield than ‘Chungja 3’ in locations with single (similar) and double (19% higher) cropping systems, respectively. ‘Gyeongheukcheong’ represents a consumer-friendly black soybean with dark green cotyledons and high yield potential (Registration No. 9065).

A black soybean cultivar, “Saebaram” with green cotyledons, was developed and released by the Gyeongsangbuk-do Agricultural Research and Extension Services (GBARS) in 2019. It was developed from a single cross between “Seonheuk” and “RCS640” in 2011. The preliminary yield trial and advanced yield trial were conducted at GBARS from 2015 to 2016. The regional yield trial (RYT) was conducted in seven locations from 2017 to 2019 in Korea. “Saebaram” had purple flowers, grey pubescence, light brown pods, a black seed coat, an ellipse seed shape, and a large seed size (42.8 g/100 seeds). The seed size was significantly larger than that of the check cultivar “Cheongja 3” (36.2 g/100 seeds). Moreover, it was moderately resistant to bacterial pustule (caused by Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. glycines) and soybean mosaic virus (strain G6H). “Saebaram” had dark green cotyledons, whereas “Cheongja 3” had light green cotyledons. The total chlorophyll contents (chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b) in the green cotyledons of “Saebaram” and “Cheongja 3” were 76.1 μg/g and 30.1 μg/g, respectively. Furthermore, the RYT showed that “Saebaram” had 287 kg/10a, which was 10% higher than that of “Cheongja 3” (261 kg/10a). This black soybean cultivar with improved yield, large-size seeds, and dark green cotyledons is expected to have a high commercial value for Korean farmers (Registration No. 9155).

“JJ603Balck” is a mid-late maturing high-yielding black rice having multiple-disease resistance. It was developed to increase the yield and disease resistance of Korean black rice. “JJ603Black” was derived from a cross between “Heughyang” and BC₂F₁ plants (Hopum*3/SR30075-1-12-6-1-1-1). “Heughyang” is a mid-late black rice with a short culm, while “Hopum” is a mid-late maturing rice cultivar with high yields and premium quality, and “SR30075” is a pyramid line carrying three bacterial blight resistance genes. “JJ603Black” was selected through the pedigree method, yield trials, and local adaptability tests, with a high selection pressure for black pericarp, resistance to bacterial blight K3a race, and high yield performance. The heading date of “JJ603Black” was August 19, 8 d later than that of “Heugnam,” which is the standard cultivar for black rice. “JJ603Black” is a cultivar tolerant to lodging with erect plant architecture. It showed multiple-disease resistance against bacterial blight and rice stripe virus owing to introgression resistance genes, Xa3+Xa21+Stvb-I; moreover, its yielding performance was high. The average brown rice yield of "JJ603Black" from 2016 to 2018 was 6.02 MT/ha, which was 14% more than that of “Heugnam” (5.30 metric/ha). Further, the anthocyanin content of “JJ603Black” (58 mg/100 g) was higher than that of “Heugnam” (51 mg/100 g). Therefore, “JJ603Black,” a high-yielding black rice cultivar with multiple-disease resistance, can be utilized for enhancing the disease resistance and yield of Korean black rice (Registration No. 7274).

In Korea, black soybeans are traditionally consumed after cooking with rice to supplement protein and oil which are lacking in rice. Seed cooking quality including seed traits after cooking with rice, which is important for consumers, were so far not comprehensively considered during the process of breeding. In this study, we first evaluated seed quality after cooking with rice, we tested the correlation between seed cooking quality and seed water absorption ratio, and we attempted to identify the Quantitative trait locus(QTL)/gene using two recombinant inbred line (RIL) populations, i.e., Daepung × Socheong2 and Daepung × Ilpumgeomjeong. Based on phenotype and correlation analyses, the main factors affecting the hardness of soybeans cooked with rice may differ between RIL population. In the Daepung × Socheong2 RIL population, one QTL associated with seed hardness after cooking with rice was identified on chromosome 11, and Glyma.11g049600, encoding peroxidase, is proposed as a candidate gene. In the Daepung × Ilpumgeomjeong RIL population, two QTLs associated with seed hardness after cooking with rice were identified on chromosomes 7 and 19, one QTL related to seed water absorption on chromosome 3, and Glyma.19g092600 encoding pectin methylesterase inhibitor are proposed as candidate genes. This is the first study on soybean cooking quality after cooking with rice, and the locations of four related QTLs were identified. The results will be of use for future development of high-quality black soybean varieties with high consumer preference using molecular breeding methods.

Understanding plant morphological and seed characteristics is an essential step for the utilization of genetic resources to improve targeted traits in soybean breeding programs. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the agronomic traits and seed pigments of 469 black soybean germplasms with green cotyledons to identify useful resources using multivariate analyses, correlation, principal component analysis (PCA), and cluster analyses. The results showed that the range of flowering days from planting were 37.7-71.5 days, harvesting days from planting were 112.3-153.0 days, plant height was 49.6-151.6 cm, and 100-seed weight was 9.1-49.3 g. According to the correlation analyses with agronomic traits, flowering and harvesting days were positively correlated with the plant height, number of nodes, and number of branches. Additionally, it was found that the chlorophyll a and total chlorophyll content had the greatest effect on the green color of the cotyledon. Based on the PCA, 13 quantitative traits were compressed into three components. The first three principal components accounted for 82.5% of the total variance. In this study, black soybean germplasms with green cotyledons were divided into four clusters by the K-means cluster analysis (non-hierarchical procedure), based on the PCA. The cluster analysis showed that chlorophyll a and plant height had a significant effect on the clustering of the black soybean germplasms used in this study. This study provides opportunities to easily select useful genetic resources for the development of new black soybean cultivars.

‘Taecheong’ is a black soybean cultivar developed from crossing ‘YS1593(Milyang136×Tanbaguro)’ and ‘Cheongja2’ in 2005. F₁ and F₂ populations were grown for 2 years and promising lines were selected by pedigree method from F₃ to F₅. The preliminary yield trial (PYT) and advanced yield trial (AYT) were conducted from 2012 to 2013, and a regional yield trial (RYT) in seven regions was conducted from 2014 to 2016. ‘Taecheong’ is determinate, with purple flower, green cotyledon, and black spherical seed. Flowering date and maturing date were August 3 and October 20, respectively. Regarding quantitative characteristics, ‘Taecheong’ has a larger seed size (44.5 g/100-seed weight) than that of ‘Cheongja3’ (35.8 g/100-seed weight). ‘Taecheong’ was tolerant to pod shattering and lodging at the RYT field and indoor test. In addition, ‘Taecheong’ was resistant to bacterial pustule during the field test, and to soybean mosaic virus (G6H strain) during the inoculation test. Although its seed quality-related characteristics were similar to those of ‘Cheongja3’, it contained more anthocyanin in its seed-coat, which is a primary functional component of black soybean. The mean yield of ‘Taecheong’ in RYT was 240 kg/10a, which was 94% of the yield of ‘Cheongja3’. ‘Taecheong’ is expected to be used as raw material for soy products, such as for preparing soybean chocolates, because of its large seed size (Registration number: 7104).

A cowpea cultivar Vigna unguiculata L. Walp ‘Seonhyeon’ is a cross species between V. unguiculata ‘IT145373’ and V. unguiculata ‘IT101362’ developed at the Jeollanamdo Agricultural Research and Extension Services (JARES) in 2017. ‘Seonhyeon’ is an erect plant with an intermediate plant habit, green hypocotyls, light purple-colored corolla, heart-shaped leaflets, black seed surface, and straight, brown mature pods. The anthocyanin content of ‘Seonhyeon’ was 1,632 µg/g, and it contained seven anthocyanins, including cyanidin-3-glucoside and delphinidin-3-glucoside. The stem length of ‘Seonhyeon’ was 54 cm, which was 13 cm longer than that of the control cultivar ‘Okdang’. Its 100-seed weight was 11.8 g, which was 3.6 g lighter than that of the control cultivar. Field resistance of ‘Seonhyeon’ to leaf and systemic diseases was similar to that of the control cultivar, whereas its field resistance to lodging was slightly lower compared to that of the control cultivar. The average yield of ‘Seonhyeon’ was 2.26 ton/ha, which was 15% higher compared to that of control cultivar. Black seed coat of the ‘Seonhyeon’ cultivar is expected to contribute to species specialization as well as to development of various processed products. (Registration number: 7499)

Cheongja4’ is a black soybean cultivar developed via a cross between ‘Milyang148’ and ‘Daemang’ in 2005. F₁ and F₂ populations were grown for 2 years, and promising lines were selected using the pedigree method from F₃ to F₅. The preliminary yield trial (PYT) and advanced yield trials (AYT) were conducted from 2011 to 2012, and regional yield trial (RYT) in 7 regions was conducted from 2013 to 2015. ‘Cheongja4’ is determinate and has purple flowers, a green cotyledon, and black spherical seeds. Flowering date and maturing date were Aug. 5 and Oct. 19, respectively. With respect to its quantitative characteristics, ‘Cheongja4’ has more pods (50) and smaller seed size (30.1g/100-seed weight) than ‘Cheongja3’ (38 and 35.2g/100-seed weight). ‘Cheongja4’ was revealed to be more tolerant to pod shattering than ‘Cheongja3’ in RYT field and indoor test. ‘Cheongja4’ had high levels of resistance to bacterial pustule and soybean mosaic virus in field and inoculation test. Although its seed quality-related characteristics were similar to those of ‘Cheongja3’, it contained more anthocyanin in the seed coat; this is the main functional component of black soybean. The mean yield of ‘Cheongja4’ in RYT was 314kg/10a, 123% of the yield of ‘Cheongja3’. ‘Cheongja4’ is expected to be widely used for variable functional purposes, such as cooking with rice and the production of processed food.

A new small red bean cultivar, ‘Geomguseul’, was artificially crossed between ‘Chilbo’ and ‘SA8412-3-1-4-3-3-2-3’ in 1998, fixed excellent agronomic characters by pedigree breeding method, and selected for the further trials with the name of ‘Miryang 10’. It was prominent and showed good result, such as high grain quality, lodging resistance, and high-antioxidant activity in the regional adaptation yield trials (RYT) for three years from 2009 to 2011 and released for the public consumption as the name of ‘SA9801-24-4-3-1’ in 2011. ‘Geomguseul’ has a semi-determinate growth habit, yellow flower, green embryonic axis, black seed coat, white hilum, and small spherical seed (12.2 grams per 100 seeds). The average yield of ‘Geomguseul’ was 2.01 MT/ha in the regional yield trials (RYT) carried out for three years from 2009 to 2011 which was a little higher than that (1.98 MT/ha) of the check variety, ‘Chungju’.

A black rice variety ‘Pareunsuperjami’ developed from a conventional breeding method is an early maturing variety, of which heading time is 113 days after sowing, about the 30th of July. Its culm length and 1000 grain weights are 64.6 cm and 18.6 g, respectively, with the heavier grain weight than that of Heugjinju. ‘Pareunsuperjami’ has the higher content of cyaniding 3-glucoside (C3G) and strong antioxidant activity, compared to other color rice varieties. The highest content of total polyphenol extracted by a 70% of ethanol was found in the grain of Pareunsuperjami rice among other varieties, such as Daeripjami, Heugjinju, Daeripbyeo. The flavonoid and C3G contents were in the order of Pareunsuperjami > Daeripjami > Heugjinju > Daeripbyeo with a 5-fold higher C3G in Pareunsuperjami (1,038 mg/100g) than that of Heugjinju (204 mg/100g). The highest radical scavenging activity of 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid, ABTS) was observed in the grain of Pareunsuperjami rice, about 383. The highest ascorbic acid equivalent antioxidant capacity (AEAC) was also observed in the grain of Pareunsuperjami (383), followed by Daeripjami (356) and Heugjinju (275). The highest DPPH radical scavenging activity in vitro was also found in the grain of Pareunsuperjami. The higher hydroxyl radical scavenging activity was also found in the grain of Pareunsuperjami than that of Daeripbyeo with no significant difference than other color rice varieties. These results suggest that there is a close relation between high content of C3G and strong antioxidant activity, and thus the Pareunsuperjami is a good source of natural antioxidants as a functional staple food.

'Cheongpungheukhyangchal' New aromatic, black pericarp and glutinous rice variety was developed by the rice breeding team of Chungbuk Agricultural Research and Extension Services, in 2012. This cultivar was derived from a cross between 'Shindongjin' as a grain quality source and 'Heugseonchal' as a black glutinous and aromatic source. The donor parent, 'Sindongjin' has been backcrossed one time with recurrent parent 'Heugseonchal' and selected by the pedigree breeding method, until F₆ generation. As a result, a promising line, CBR11-2-4-3, was advanced and designated as the name of ‘CBR L3’ in 2009. The maturity period of this cultivar took approximately 168 days from seedling to heading. This cultivar has about 15 tillers per hill and 115 spikelet numbers per panicle. Ripening ratio is about 76.5% and 1000 grain weight is 27.2 g in brown rice. Milled rice of 'Cheongpungheukhyangchal' has trait of glutinous and aromatic endosperm. It has higher anthocyanin content compared to that of black pigmented check cultivar ‘Heugseonchal’. The yield performance of brown rice was 5.39 MT/ha in local adaptability test for three years. ‘Cheongpungheukhyangchal’ is adaptable to central plain and southern mid-mountainous area of Korea.

A new soybean cultivar ‘Wonhyun’, was developed by mutation breeding technique using a 250 Gy gamma ray at Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) in 2010. ‘Wonhyun’ has black seed coat and much better agronomic performance than original variety ‘Paldal’. Their total yield (177.1kg/10a) is much higher than that of ‘Paldal’ (126.9 kg/10a). Also, 100 seed weight of Wonhyun was 27g compared to ‘Paldal’ (13.7g). Contents of 4 essential amino acids such as aspartic acid, glutamic acid, lysine, arginine and unsaturated fatty acid including linoleic and linolenic acid have much higher than ‘Paldal’. This cultivar is good for cooking with rice as improved functional ingredient soybean.

A new soybean variety, ‘Joongmo 3009’ (Milyang 222) was developed at the National Institute of Crop Science (NICS) in 2012. ‘Joongmo 3009’ was released by pedigree selection from the cross between ‘Cheongja 2(Milyang 121)’ and ‘Daemangkong’.

It has determinate growth habit, white flower, brown pubescence, brown pod color, green seed coat, green cotyledon, spherical seed shape, oval leaf shape and large seed size (29.3 grams per 100 seeds). It was late 16 days in maturing date than the check cultivar ‘Cheongjakong’. The average yield of ‘Joongmo 3009’ was 2.91 ton per hectare, which was higher 36 percentage than the check variety, in the regional yield trials carried out in three adaptable locations of Korea from 2010 to 2012. The number of breeder’s right is ‘5474’