CDC Hickie yellow field pea

CDC Hickie, a yellow cotyledon field pea (Pisum sativum L.) cultivar, was released in 2021 by the Crop Development Centre, University of Saskatchewan for distribution to Select seed growers through the Variety Release Committee of the Saskatchewan Pulse Growers. CDC Hickie has good lodging resistance, medium time to maturity, medium-sized, round seeds, mean seed protein concentration of 24.4%, and good yielding ability. It is resistant to powdery mildew and moderately susceptible to mycosphaerella blight and Fusarium root rot. CDC Hickie is adapted to the field pea growing regions of western Canada.

CDC Lewochko yellow field pea

CDC Lewochko, a yellow cotyledon field pea (Pisum sativum L.) cultivar, was released in 2018 by the Crop Development Centre, University of Saskatchewan for distribution to Select seed growers through the Variety Release Committee of the Saskatchewan Pulse Growers. CDC Lewochko has good lodging resistance, medium time to maturity, medium-sized, round seeds, mean seed protein concentration of 21.0%, and good yielding ability. It is resistant to powdery mildew and moderately susceptible to mycosphaerella blight and Fusarium root rot. CDC Lewochko is adapted to the field pea growing regions of western Canada.

Changes in soybean cultivars released over the past 50 years in southern Brazil

On-farm soybean yield has increased considerably in the last 50 years in southern Brazil, but there is still little information about how selection and breeding for yield increase has changed the agronomic attributes of cultivars. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the changes in soybean yield, seed oil and protein concentration, and changes in plant attributes that might be associated with yield improvement of 26 soybean cultivars released over the past 50 years in southern Brazil, sown simultaneously in a common field environment for two growing seasons. The average rate of yield gain was 45.9 kg ha−1 yr−1 (2.1% ha−1 yr−1), mainly due increased seed number per area and harvest index. Over year of cultivar release, cultivars became less susceptible to lodging, as well as plant mortality reduced. Meanwhile, the seed oil concentration increased, and seed protein concentration decreased, which could have negative consequences for soybeans use and requires further attention for breeding of future cultivars. Breeders have successfully contributed to the annual rate of soybean yield increase in southern Brazil. By our results, as well as the official on-farm production data, there is no evidence of soybean yield reaching a plateau in the near future in southern Brazil.

CDC Tollefson yellow field pea

CDC Tollefson, a yellow cotyledon field pea (Pisum sativum L.) cultivar, was released in 2021 by the Crop Development Centre, University of Saskatchewan for distribution to Select seed growers through the Variety Release Committee of the Saskatchewan Pulse Growers. CDC Tollefson has good lodging resistance, medium time to maturity, medium-sized, round seeds, mean seed protein concentration of 23.9%, and good yielding ability. It is resistant to powdery mildew and moderately susceptible to mycosphaerella blight and Fusarium root rot. CDC Tollefson is adapted to the field pea growing regions of western Canada.

Late-Season Nitrogen Applications Increase Soybean Yield and Seed Protein Concentration

Low seed and meal protein concentration in modern high-yielding soybean [Glycine max L. (Merr.)] cultivars is a major concern but there is limited information on effective cultural practices to address this issue. In the objective of dealing with this problem, this study conducted field experiments in 2019 and 2020 to evaluate the response of seed and meal protein concentrations to the interactive effects of late-season inputs [control, a liquid Bradyrhizobium japonicum inoculation at R3, and 202 kg ha−1 nitrogen (N) fertilizer applied after R5], previous cover crop (fallow or cereal cover crop with residue removed), and short- and full-season maturity group cultivars at three U.S. locations (Fayetteville, Arkansas; Lexington, Kentucky; and St. Paul, Minnesota). The results showed that cover crops had a negative effect on yield in two out of six site-years and decreased seed protein concentration by 8.2 mg g−1 on average in Minnesota. Inoculant applications at R3 did not affect seed protein concentration or yield. The applications of N fertilizer after R5 increased seed protein concentration by 6 to 15 mg g−1, and increased yield in Arkansas by 13% and in Minnesota by 11% relative to the unfertilized control. This study showed that late-season N applications can be an effective cultural practice to increase soybean meal protein concentration in modern high-yielding cultivars above the minimum threshold required by the industry. New research is necessary to investigate sustainable management practices that increase N availability to soybeans late in the season.

Nutritional Profile of the Ethiopian Oilseed Crop Noug (Guizotia abyssinica Cass.): Opportunities for Its Improvement as a Source for Human Nutrition

The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of noug as a source for human nutrition. Diverse noug genotypes were evaluated for their content and/or composition of total lipids, fatty acids, proteins, and minerals using standard methods. The total lipid content (32.5–45.7%) and the proportion of an essential fatty acid, linoleic acid (72.2–77.8%), were high in noug, compared to other oilseed crops. The proportion of oleic acid, a monounsaturated fatty acid, was low in noug (5.2–9.2%). The breeding objective of increasing the oleic acid level in the highland, where noug is mainly cultivated, was limited, as the content of this acid was low in this environment. The seed protein concentration (25.4–27.5%) and mineral content were mainly affected by the cultivation environment, as the high temperature increased the amount of protein, whereas the soil condition was a major factor in the variation of the mineral content. Thus, noug is a unique crop with a high seed oil content, of which a high proportion is linoleic acid. With the exception of the seed oleic acid content, when grown in low-altitude areas, the genotypic variation contributes less than the cultivation environment to the nutritional attributes of noug. Hence, high-oleic-acid noug for lowland production can be targeted as a breeding goal.

Environmental Factors Associated With Nitrogen Fixation Prediction in Soybean

Biological nitrogen (N)-fixation is the most important source of N for soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.], with considerable implications for sustainable intensification. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the relevance of environmental factors driving N-fixation and to develop predictive models defining the role of N-fixation for improved productivity and increased seed protein concentration. Using the elastic net regularization of multiple linear regression, we analyzed 40 environmental factors related to weather, soil, and crop management. We selected the most important factors associated with the relative abundance of ureides (RAU) as an indicator of the fraction of N derived from N-fixation. The most relevant RAU predictors were N fertilization, atmospheric vapor pressure deficit (VPD) and precipitation during early reproductive growth (R1–R4 stages), sowing date, drought stress during seed filling (R5–R6), soil cation exchange capacity (CEC), and soil sulfate concentration before sowing. Soybean N-fixation ranged from 60 to 98% across locations and years (n = 95). The predictive model for RAU showed relative mean square error (RRMSE) of 4.5% and an R2 value of 0.69, estimated via cross-validation. In addition, we built similar predictive models of yield and seed protein to assess the association of RAU and these plant traits. The variable RAU was selected as a covariable for the models predicting yield and seed protein, but with a small magnitude relative to the sowing date for yield or soil sulfate for protein. The early-reproductive period VPD affected all independent variables, namely RAU, yield, and seed protein. The elastic net algorithm successfully depicted some otherwise challenging empirical relationships to assess with bivariate associations in observational data. This approach provides inference about environmental variables while predicting N-fixation. The outcomes of this study will provide a foundation for improving the understanding of N-fixation within the context of sustainable intensification of soybean production.

Effects of type I Diacylglycerol O-acyltransferase (DGAT1) genes on soybean (Glycine max L.) seed composition

Type I Diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT1) catalyzes the final step of the biosynthesis process of triacylglycerol (TAG), the major storage lipids in plant seeds, through the esterification of diacylglycerol (DAG). To characterize the function of DGAT1 genes on the accumulation of oil and other seed composition traits in soybean, transgenic lines were generated via trans-acting siRNA technology, in which three DGAT1 genes (Glyma.13G106100, Glyma.09G065300, and Glyma.17G053300) were downregulated. The simultaneous downregulation of the three isoforms in transgenic lines was found to be associated with the reduction of seed oil concentrations by up to 18 mg/g (8.3%), which was correlated with increases in seed protein concentration up to 42 mg/g (11%). Additionally, the downregulations also influenced the fatty acid compositions in the seeds of transgenic lines through increasing the level of oleic acid, up to 121 mg/g (47.3%). The results of this study illustrate the importance of DGAT1 genes in determining the seed compositions in soybean through the development of new potential technology for manipulating seed quality in soybean to meet the demands for its various food and industrial applications.