The rice cultivar ‘Misiru’, which is ideal for rice flour production by dry milling, was developed by the rice breeding team at the National Institute of Crop Science (NICS), Rural Development Administration (RDA), Korea, in 2017 to vitalize the rice processing industry. It is derived from a cross between ‘Daeripbyeo1’ and ‘Seolgaeng’. ‘Misiru’ was grown on a middle plain area by ordinary cultivation methods. The heading date was on August 13, culm length was 85 cm, and there were 12 panicles and 112 spikelets per panicle. The ripened grain ratio was lower than that of ‘Hwaseong’; however, the 1,000 brown rice weight was 30.8 g, about 8 g heavier than that of ‘Hwaseong’. ‘Misiru’ showed medium resistance to blast but susceptibility to bacterial blight, viruses, and insect pests. It was resistant to lodging, whereas pre-harvest sprouting rate and cold tolerance were similar to those of ‘Hwaseong’. The milled rice appeared non-glutinous opaque, with opaque grain rate of 83.7%. The rice grain was soft and starch granules in the endosperm were of spherical type, similar to wheat. The grain contained 6.4% protein and 18.6% amylose (the content of the latter was similar to that in ‘Hwaseong’). However, its milled rice recovery rate was lower than that of ‘Hwaseong’. The average size of dry-milling rice flour was 64.4 μm, and the rate of damaged starch was 5.2%, lower than that of ‘Hwaseong’. ‘Misiru’ milled rice yield was 5.66 MT/ha, 8% higher than the yield potential of ‘Hwaseong’. The cultivar ‘Misiru’ is thus suitable for rice flour production by dry milling (Grant No. 7682).

Forest tree improvement is relatively a young science and its purpose is to provide guidance for the conservation, management and sustainable utilization of genetic resources of natural and managed forests. In South Korea, forest tree improvement programs started in 1956. The programs had two main aims: to guarantee the genetic origin of the forest reproductive materials used in afforestation and reforestation, and to develop genetically improved individuals and varieties of some commercially important trees. Since the launch of the forest tree improvement programs, biomass production has been the major improvement target, together with overall adaptability to different sites. Further improvement targets have recently been added, including wood quality traits, and more specific targets linked to adaptation to abiotic and biotic factors in response to new socioeconomic needs and global changes. Additionally, since the early 1970s, forest genetic resource conservation and forest fruit and nut tree breeding have progressed in South Korea. Molecular breeding techniques based on omics information are being developed to enhance the efficacy of selection and to accelerate forest tree breeding cycles. Genetic engineering, including gene editing, has also been applied, but is currently limited to research purposes. Forest tree improvement will be an integral part of the bioeconomy in securing the production of good quality raw materials in large quantities, and will play a significant role in sequestering carbon dioxide and decelerating climate change in the long term.