Rice cultivar ‘Saeodae1’ was generated by crossing ‘Saeodae’, which has good taste and a medium-short round grain, and ‘Unbong51’ which has a combined disease resistance and translucent grain. The aim of this was to develop an early maturing rice cultivar with medium-short round grain and high quality rice which adapts to the mid-northern inland plain, northern-middle highland, northern-east coastal region of Korea, and was undertaken by the rice breeding team of Cheolwon Substation, National Institute of Crop Science (NICS), RDA, in 2022. In the normal growing season in the mid-northern inland plain of Korea, the heading date of ‘Saeodae1’ was July 25 around the same time in ‘Odae’. ‘Saeodae1’ had a 75 cm culm length, 1 cm longer than that of ‘Odae’, and 75 spikelets per panicle, similar to that of ‘Odae’. The ripened grain ratio (84.7%) of ‘Saeodae1’ was higher than that (72.5%) of ‘Odae’. The head rice ratio (60.9%) of ‘Saeodae1’ was higher than that of ‘Odae’, which is advantageous in securing yield. 1,000 grain weight (25.9 g) was similar to that of ‘Odae’, but it has a smaller degree of white core rice, leading to an improved consumer preference. ‘Saeodae1’ exhibited resistance to blast and bacterial blight (K1, K2, K3 races), but was susceptible to the K3a race of bacterial blight, stripe virus, dwarf and black streak dwarf viruses, and plant-hoppers. The milled rice of this variety was translucent, with a medium-short grain shape. The cooked rice grains of ‘Saeodae1’ exhibited a good palatability index (0.13) and similar amylose content (18.2%) to that of ‘Odae’. Grain milling characteristics, including head rice milling recovery ratio and head rice ratio (82.0%) were better than those of ‘Odae’. Average milled rice productivity of ‘Saeodae1’ was 5.59 t/ha at six sites in the normal growing season (Registration No. 10182(2024.5.14.)).

‘Gowoo’, a mid-late flowering, high yielding rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivar with glabrous leaf and hull and resistant to multiple diseases and insects, was developed for forage use. It was developed for use as a whole crop silage obtained from a cross between ‘Kusahonami’ with high biomass, smooth leaf and hull, lodging resistance and Japonica high yielding line ‘Iksan514,’ which showed resistance to bacterial blight (BB) (race K1, K2, K3) and rice stripe virus (RSV). In the central plain region of Suwon, ‘Gowoo’ cultivar exhibited a growth period of approximately 120 days from seeding to heading, 111 cm culm length, 22 cm panicle length, 12 panicles per hill, 140 spikelets per panicle, and 1,000-grain weight of 23.4 g as brown rice. This hairless forage rice variety was weak in response to cold stresses, similar to ‘Nokyang’. However, it was resistant to lodging in the field and showed a strong response to viviparous germination. In addition, ‘Gowoo’ was resistant to leaf and neck blast, BB, RSV, and small brown planthopper. Its average dry matter yield for three years reached 18.2 MT/ha, which was 21% higher than that of ‘Nokyang’. This glabrous cultivar had 5.3% crude protein and 68.2% total digestible nutrients, a little low compared to ‘Nokyang’. In Korea peninsular, ‘Gowoo’ grows well in central and southern plain and is good to harvest between 15 to 30 days after heading to improve its feeding value and digestion rate of livestock (Grant No. 8681).

The rice cultivar ‘Chamdongjin’ was developed to enhance the disease resistance of ‘Sindongjin’. ‘Sindongjin’, developed by the RDA in 1999, is a mega-variety with a unique grain size and excellent taste, and has been cultivated in the largest area in Korea since 2018. As ‘Sindongjin’ has been cultivated in a large area recently, problems such as pest damage are increasing, and the necessity to develop alternative cultivars is emerging. Accordingly, the multiple disease-resistant, mid-late maturing rice cultivar ‘Chamdongjin’, carrying the bacterial blight resistance gene Xa21 into the genetic background of ‘Sindongjin’, was developed. ‘Chamdongjin’ was developed by the backcrossing method using the donor parent ‘HR27195-59-3-5-5’, harboring the bacterial blight resistance genes Xa3+Xa21 and the recurrent parent ‘Sindongjin’. ‘Chamdongjin’ was selected through the pedigree method, yield trials, and local adaptability tests, with a high selection pressure for agronomic trait similarities with ‘Sindongjin’. In order to effectively improve the disease resistance, marker-assisted selection for disease resistance genes and bioassays for bacterial blight, blast, and stripe virus were performed in parallel. ‘Chamdongjin’ was confirmed to have three disease-resistance genes, Xa3+Xa21+Stvb-i. Most of agronomic traits of ‘Chamdongjin’ were similar to ‘Sindongjin’, while ‘Chamdongjin’ showed enhanced disease resistance against bacterial blight and panicle blast compared to ‘Sindongjin’. ‘Chamdongjin’, like ‘Sindongjin’, possessed a grain size-related gene, the gs3 allele, and exhibited larger grains than general Korean japonica cultivars. In addition, ‘Chamdongjin’ showed a similar or higher level of palatability compared to ‘Sindognjin’, indicating the excellent quality characteristics. In the genetic background analysis using 787 KASP markers, ‘Chamdongjin’ showed 96.3% homozygosity with ‘Sindongjin’, indicating that it had a more similar genetic background to ‘Sindongjin’ than to other existing cultivars. ‘Chamgdongjin’ is expected to be widely cultivated as an alternative to ‘Sindongjin’, which could maintain the brand value while preventing the disease damage caused to ‘Sindongjin’ (Registration No. 9310).

‘Haedeul’ is a high-quality rice variety with early maturing that adapts to the central region of Korea. This cultivar was crossed between ‘Gopum’, which has excellent taste, and ‘Hoban’, which has a low viviparous germination rate and is moderately tolerant of cold, by the rice breeding team of the Department of Central Area Crop Science, NlCS, RDA, in 2017. In early-transplanting cultivation, the heading date of ‘Haedeul’ was July 24 in central area of Korea, which was seven days later than that of ‘Jopyeong’. ‘Haedeul’ had a culm length of 75 cm and 99 spikelets per panicle. The viviparous germination rate of ‘Haedeul’ was 7.7%. It showed resistance to blast and bacterial blight (K1, K2, K3 race), but was susceptible to the K3a race of bacterial blight, stripe virus, dwarf and black streak dwarf viruses, and plant-hoppers. The milled rice of this variety exhibited a translucent and medium short grain shape. The cooked rice grains of ‘Haedeul’ had an excellent palatability index (0.61) and lower amylose content (18.0%) than that of ‘Jopyeong’. The grain milling characteristics were better than those of ‘Jopyeong’, especially the head rice milling recovery ratio and head rice ratio (94.9%). ‘Haedeul’ milled rice productivity averaged 5.32 MT/ha at five sites under ordinary cultivation (Registration No. 7681).

‘Miwoo’ is a mid-late maturing, high-biomass-yielding rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivar with high feed value and resistance to multiple diseases and insect pests. It was developed for use as whole crop silage (WCS) from a cross between ‘Suweon519’, a line with high biomass yield and multiple disease resistance, and ‘Suweon518’, a medium flowering, high yielding Tong-il type line, which is resistant to blast (BL), bacterial blight (BB) (race K1), rice stripe virus (RSV) and brown planthopper (BPH). In the central plain region of Suwon, ‘Miwoo’ cultivar exhibited a growth period of approximately 122 days from seeding to heading, culm length of 99 cm, panicle length of 28 cm, 12 panicles per hill, 143 spikelets per panicle, and 1,000-grain weight of 25.9 g as brown rice. This mid-late-flowering rice variety was resistant to lodging during the yellowing ripening stage, an optimal period for harvesting. In addition, ‘Miwoo’ was strongly resistant to leaf and neck blast, BB (race K1, K2, K3, K3a), RSV, BPH and small BPH. Its average dry matter yield over 3 years reached 19.9 MT/ha, which is 36% higher than that of ‘Nokyang’. ‘Miwoo’ is a high-amylose cultivar with 70.7% total digestible nutrients (similar to that of Nokyang) and grows well on the central and southern plains of the Korean Peninsula. It should be harvested 30 days after heading to improve its feed value and digestion rate in livestock. (Registration No. 7683)

‘Keunpum’ is a mid-late maturing, high yielding, giant embryo rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivar which is adapted to central plains and was developed to be used as (germinated) brown rice. It is resistant to multiple diseases with a good grain quality. This cultivar was derived by crossing a giant embryo rice variety ‘Keunnun’ and a mid-late maturing, multi-disease resistant rice cultivar ‘Samkwang’-it has good palatability of cooked rice. The growth period of this cultivar is approximately 117 d from seeding to heading, with a culm length of 88 ㎝, panicle length of 20 ㎝, 13 panicles per hill, 136 spikelets per panicle, and 1,000-grain weight of 19.1 g brown rice. This variety has low tolerance to cold stress and premature germination similar to ‘Keunnun’ but exhibits high resistance to lodging. In addition, ‘Keunpum’ is resistant to bacterial blight (race K1, K2, K3), rice stripe virus, and is moderately resistant to leaf and neck blast. Its average milled rice yield for three years reached 5.34 MT/ha, which is 10% higher than that of ‘Keunnun’. In the brown and germinated brown rice of this cultivar, the total dietary fiber content are 6.45% and 6.71%, and the GABA (γ-amino butyric acid) content are 6.61 and 39.47 mg/100 g, respectively. In addition, the total contents of polyphenol, flavonoid, and tannin were higher in ‘Keunpum’ brown rice than in ‘Keunnun’. The DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activities were 75.23, 116.08 mg TE/100g, respectively. These functional components and antioxidant activities play an important role in inhibiting diseases and the aging process of the human body. Therefore, it is expected to be used as a basic data in the manufacture of secondary processed products using germinated brown rice (Grant No. 7684).

‘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).

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.

‘Jowoo’, an early maturing, high biomass yielding rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivar with high feed value and multiple disease-insect resistance, was developed for winter forage crop-whole crop silage (WCS) rice double cropping. It was derived from a cross between a high biomass and multiple disease resistant line ‘Suweon519’ and an early flowering, high yielding Tong-il type variety ‘Gaya’ that harbored Bph3 and BPH26, conferring brown planthopper (Bph) broad resistance. This cultivar had a growth period of approximately 106 days from seeding to heading, 97 cm culm length, 24 cm panicle length, 12 panicles per hill, 120 spikelets per panicle, and 1,000-grain weight of 22.1 g as brown rice in the central plain region of Suwon. This early flowering rice variety was tolerant to premature germination and cold stresses, especially showed higher grain fertility than ‘Nokyang’ at a cold-water (17℃) irrigated screening nursery. Further, ‘Jowoo’ exhibited high lodging resistance in the yellowing ripening stage, an optimal period for harvest. In addition, ‘Jowoo’ was resistant to leaf and neck blast, bacterial blight (race K1, K2, K3, K3a), rice stripe virus, and small Bph and was also moderately resistant to Bph. Its average dry matter yield for three years reached 18.2 MT/ha, the highest among early flowering rice varieties and 19% higher than that of ‘Nokyang’. This cultivar had 72.2% total digestible nutrients, which is also higher than that of ‘Nokyang’. In the Korean peninsula, ‘Jowoo’ grows well in the central and southern plains and can be harvested 30 days after heading. This helps improve its feeding value and digestion rate in livestock (Grant No. 8133).

The cultivation of early maturing rice in the plain areas in Korea is increasingly diversifying its cropping systems. Early maturing rice cultivars are usually vulnerable to bacterial blight (BB) and rice stripe virus (RSV) compared to mid- and mid-late maturing rice cultivars. To enhance the resistance of early maturing rice against BB and RSV, ‘IS592BB’ was developed by introgression of resistance genes, Xa3, Xa21, and Stvb-i into the genetic background of ‘Unkwang’, an early maturing rice cultivar with excellent agronomic characteristics. ‘IS592BB’ was derived from a backcross between ‘Unkwang’ and the F1 cross between ‘Unkwang’ and ‘SR31206-12’ (‘Unkwang’/‘SR30075’) and selected through the pedigree method, yield trials, and local adaptability tests. Using bioassay and marker-assisted selection to BB and RSV, Xa3, Xa21, and Stvb-i were pyramided in ‘IS592BB’. ‘IS592BB’ exhibited high-level and broad-spectrum resistance against BB, including the K3a race, the most virulent race in Korea, and also showed a resistance reaction to RSV. ‘IS592BB’ was found to be an early maturing rice cultivar with similar agronomic characteristics to ‘Unkwang’ such as early maturing, lodging tolerance with short culm, erect plant architecture, blast resistance, and high-yielding performance. In the genetic background analysis using 771 KASP (Kompetitive Allele-Specific PCR) markers, ‘IS592BB’ was confirmed to be the near-isogenic line (NIL) of ‘Unkwang’ with a 93.6% recovery rate. ‘IS592BB’ was successfully introgressed with the Xa3+Xa21+Stvb-i genes into ‘Unkwang’ without linkage drag negatively affecting its agronomic characteristics. ‘IS592BB’ would enhance the adaptability of early maturing rice in the plain area through its multiple disease resistance (Registration No. 7648).

‘Cheongwoo’, a late maturing, high biomass-yielding rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivar with high feed value and multiple disease and insect resistance, was developed for whole crop silage (WCS) use. It was derived from a cross between a high biomass and multiple disease resistant line ‘Suweon519’ and early flowering, high-yielding Tong-il type cultivar ‘Gaya’, which exhibited a brown planthopper (BPH) broad resistance conferred by Bph3 and BPH26. The cultivar was characterized by growth period from seeding to heading of about 130 days, culm length of 87 cm, panicle length of 29 cm, 12 panicles per hill, 135 spikelets per panicle, and 1,000-grain weight of brown rice of 21.4 g in the central plain region, Suwon. This long-leaved green WCS rice variety was sensitive to cold stress, similar to ‘Nokyang’, but resistant to premature germination, and germinated well under low temperature conditions. Furthermore, ‘Cheongwoo’ exhibited high lodging resistance at the yellowing stage, the optimal period for harvesting in the field. Additionally, ‘Cheongwoo’ was resistant to leaf and neck blast, bacterial blight (races K1, K2, K3, K3a), rice stripe virus, BPH, and small BPH. Its average dry matter yield for three years reached 20.6 MT/ha, 38% higher than that of ‘Nokyang’. The content of crude protein (5.32%) and total digestible nutrients (71.2%) was higher than that in ‘Nokyang’. On the Korean Peninsula, ‘Cheongwoo’ grows well in central and southern plains, and should be optimally harvested between 15 and 30 days after heading to improve its feeding value and digestion rate in livestock (Grant No. 7662).

Rice research in Korea during the past 100 years has gone through tremendous changes and improvements as the country underwent a turbulent history of transformation. Full-scale R&D modernization began in the 1970s, when the government focused policy on achieving self-sufficiency in rice in order to establish the foundation for national economic growth. A major landmark was reached by the development of the rice variety “Tongil” and its cultivation technology, which was at the core of the unprecedented Korean “Green Revolution”. Since achieving self-sufficiency in rice, the breeding goal of Korea moved from increasing yield to improving grain quality as more consumers began to seek high quality food products in the 1980s. This change led to the establishment of the high quality rice breeding platform for enhancing the global competitiveness of Korean rice to cope with the opening of domestic rice market in the 2000s. Currently, the major breeding goals in rice are developing premium quality cultivars for table rice and specialized cultivars for boosting processed food industry. To date, the National Institute of Crop Science has released a total of 300 rice cultivars, including 202 table rice and 98 specialized usage cultivars. Diverse technologies have been developed and utilized for breeding new rice cultivars to meet changing needs. In the next 100 years of rice breeding, the convergence of traditional crop improvement technologies and the new breeding technologies utilizing recent advances in biotechnology will play a crucial role in enhancing breeding efficiency.

Baekgeumok, a sweet corn hybrid made by crossing inbred KSE15 and KSE21, was developed by the maize breeding team at the National Institute of Crop Science, Rural Development Administration in 2015. Baekgeumok silks at 63 days, similar to Danok3 (check variety). The plant height is 179 cm, higher than check variety, and the ear height is 105 cm, similar to check variety. Baekgeumok has an excellent lodging resistance. The fresh ear yields were 6,411 ears and 1,141 kg in 10 a. Pericarp thickness was 39 µm and sugar content was 19.5 °Bx. Sensory evaluation value was 6.1 and flavor was excellent. This hybrid can be cultivated in Gyeonggi-do, Gangwon-do, Chungcheongbuk-do, Gyeongsangbuk-do, and Gyeongsangnam-do. Seeds of Baekgeumok must be renewed annually, because this hybrid is a single cross hybrid. This sweet corn hybrid must be cultivated at least 200 m from areas with other corn varieties, because of their recessive gene. When cultivated at high density, the ear size and ratio of kernel set length / ear length will be lower in this hybrid than in standard cultivars. This hybrid requires pest control because it is susceptible to corn borer infestation. Drainage management is important in the rainy season. (Registration No. 6725)

‘Yechan’ is a high grain quality mid-late maturing rice cultivar with lodging tolerance and multiple disease resistance. It was a derived from a cross between ‘Hopum’ and ‘Iksan537’ (cultivar name ‘Haepum’). ‘Hopum’ is a high grain quality mid-late maturing rice cultivar with strong lodging tolerance and ‘Haepum’ is a high grain quality medium maturing rice cultivar with multiple disease resistance. To shorten the breeding period, another culture method was applied to the F₁ plants. ‘Yechan’ was selected through the pedigree method, yield trials, and local adaptability tests, with a high selection pressure for grain quality, lodging, and disease resistance. The heading date of ‘Yechan’ was August 14, one day later than that of ‘Nampyeong’. ‘Yechan’ is a cultivar tolerant to lodging and it has short culms. It has multiple disease resistance against rice blast, rice stripe virus, and bacterial blight, including the K3a race, the most virulent race in Korea. The yield of ‘Yechan’ was similar to that of ‘Nampyeong’. ‘Yechan’ showed excellent grain appearance, superior taste when cooked, and enhanced milling performance; thus, we concluded that it could contribute to the improvement of Korean japonica rice cultivar quality. ‘Yechan’, a high grain quality mid-late maturing rice cultivar with lodging tolerance and multiple disease resistance, would be suitable for cultivation in the southern plain area in Korea and has been utilized in the breeding programs aimed at enhancing the grain quality and stability for the cultivation of Korean japonica rice (Registration No. 7647).

‘Jinhan’, a japonica rice variety, was developed from a cross between ‘Cheolwon68’ (IT218244) and ‘Junghwabyeo’ (IT260473) by the rice breeding team at National Institute of Crop Science in 2015. ‘Cheolwon68’ is early maturing and resistant to blast disease, and ‘Junghwabyeo’ is a cold-tolerant and high-quality variety. The growth duration of ‘Jinhan’ in the paddy field was 116 days in the Northern Central Highland in Korea, which was similar to that of ‘Jinbu’. The culm length of ‘Jinhan’ was 61 cm, which was 10 cm shorter than that of ‘Jinbu’. The panicle of ‘Jinhan’ was composed of 66 spikelets. The viviparous germination rate of ‘Jinhan’ was 33.2%. ‘Jinhan’ showed resistance to blast disease, but was susceptible to stripe virus, dwarf and black-streaked dwarf viruses, and plant hoppers. The milled rice grains of ‘Jinhan’ showed an excellent palatability index (0.23) and lower protein content (5.7%) than that of ‘Jinbu’. The grain milling characteristics of ‘Jinhan’ were similar to those of ‘Jinbu’. ‘Jinhan’ showed a milled rice productivity of 5.43 MT/ha at four sites cultivated in the Northern Central Highland (Registration No. 7318).

‘Sinjinbaek’ is a bacterial blight (BB)-resistant, mid-late maturing rice cultivar with high grain quality. To diversify the resistance genes and enhance the resistance of Korean rice cultivars against BB, ‘Sinjinbaek’ was developed from a cross between ‘Iksan493’ (cultivar name ‘Jinbaek’) and the F₁ cross between ‘Hopum’ and ‘HR24670-9-2-1’ (‘HR24670’). ‘Jinbaek’ is a BB-resistant cultivar with two BB resistance genes, Xa3 and xa5. ‘Hopum’ is a high grain quality cultivar with the Xa3 resistance gene. ‘HR24670’ is a near-isogenic line that carries the Xa21 gene, a resistance gene inherited from a wild rice species O. longistaminata, in the genetic background of japonica elite rice line ‘Suweon345’. ‘Sinjinbaek’ was selected through the pedigree method, yield trials, and local adaptability tests. Using bioassay for BB races and DNA markers for resistance genes, three resistance genes, Xa3, xa5, and Xa21, were pyramided in the ‘Sinjinbaek’ cultivar. ‘Sinjinbaek’ exhibited high-level and broad-spectrum resistance against BB, including the K3a race, the most virulent race in Korea. ‘Sinjinbaek’ is a mid-late maturing rice cultivar tolerant to lodging. It has multiple disease resistance against BB, rice blast, and stripe virus. The yield of ‘Sinjinbaek’ was similar to that of ‘Nampyeong’. ‘Sinjinbaek’ showed excellent grain appearance, good taste of cooked rice, and enhanced milling performance, and we concluded that it could contribute to improving the quality of BB-resistant cultivars. ‘Sinjinbaek’ was successfully introgressed with the Xa21 gene without the linkage drag negatively affecting its agronomic characteristics. ‘Sinjinbaek’ improved the resistance of Korean rice cultivars against BB by introgression of a new resistance gene, Xa21, as well as by pyramiding three resistance genes, Xa3, xa5, and Xa21. ‘Sinjinbaek’ would be suitable for the cultivation in BB-prone areas since it has been used in breeding programs for enhancing plants’ resistance to BB (Registration No. 7273).

‘Haepum’ is a bacterial blight-resistant, medium maturing rice cultivar with high grain quality. It was derived from a cross between ‘Iksan493’ (cultivar name ‘Jinbaek’) and the F₁ cross between ‘Iksan495’ (‘Dacheong’) and ‘Iksan496’ (‘Jungmo1005’). Of these three cultivars, ‘Jinbaek’ is a bacterial blight-resistant mid-late maturing rice cultivar with high grain quality, ‘Dacheong’ is a mid-late maturing rice cultivar with multiple resistance to disease and insects, and ‘Jungmo1005’ is a mid-late maturing rice cultivar with lodging tolerance. To develop fixed lines, the anther culture method was applied to F₁ plants. The cultivar ‘Haepum’ was selected using the pedigree method, yield trials, and local adaptability tests. The heading date of ‘Haepum’ was August 11^th, three days earlier than that of ‘Nampyeong’ cultivar. Haepum’ is a cultivar tolerant to lodging and it has short culms. Due to its low rate of viviparous germination, ‘Haepum’ could be useful for preventing pre-harvest sprouting in cultivation of medium maturing rice in the southern plain area of Korea. ‘Haepum’ carries two bacterial blight resistance genes (Xa3 and xa5), and in our study, it exhibited high-level and broad-spectrum resistance against bacterial blight, including K3a, the most virulent race in Korea. ‘Haepum’ is also resistant to the rice stripe virus and moderately resistant to rice blast. The yield of ‘Haepum’ was similar to that of ‘Nampyeong’. ‘Haepum’ showed excellent grain appearance and good taste of cooked rice, and therefore it could contribute to the development of bacterial blight-resistant rice cultivars of improved quality. ‘Haepum’ would be suitable for cultivation in the southern plain area of Korea as well as in bacterial blight-prone areas. (Registration No. 6068)

‘Asemi1’ is a rice variety derived from a cross between ‘IR71667’, which has a Jinmibyeo background with a long basic vegetative phase, and ‘IR77863’, which has a Shinunbongbyeo background with a high yield and early maturity, by the rice breeding team at NICS, RDA, in 2014. The heading date of ‘Asemi1’ is July 29, 14 days earlier than that of the check variety ‘Hwaseong’. It has a culm length of 84 cm and 110 spikelets per panicle. ‘Asemi1’ is resistant to blast disease, but susceptible to other viruses and planthoppers. The milled rice of this variety exhibits translucent, clear non-glutinous endosperm and a short grain shape. The protein content (7.3%) was higher than that of ‘Hwaseong’, and the amylose content (19.6%) was similar to that of ‘Hwaseong’. The milled rice recovery rate of ‘Asemi1’ was similar to that of ‘Hwaseong’. However, the head rice rate of ‘Asemi1’ was lower than that of ‘Hwaseong’. The milled rice yield of ‘Asemi1’ was 5.92 MT/ha, which was higher than that of ‘Hwaseong’ in ordinary cultivation. ‘Asemi1’ was suitable for adaptation to a wide region of tropical Asia (Registration No. 6809).

‘Jungmo1033’, a japonica rice variety, was developed by the rice breeding team at the National Institute of Crop Science (NICS) in 1992. It is derived from a cross between a native variety ‘Jagwangdo’, which has translucent milled rice and medium maturity; and ‘Hwayeong’, which is an elite line with bacterial blight resistance and mid-late maturity. The heading date of ‘Jungmo1033’ was August 10 in the middle plain area of Korea, which was two days later than that of ‘Hwaseong’. ‘Jungmo1033’ has a culm length of 79 cm, which was 5 cm shorter than that of ‘Hwaseong’, and 105 spikelets per panicle. ‘Jungmo1033’ showed resistance to bacterial blight (K1, K2, and K3 races) and stripe virus, but susceptibility to the K3a race of bacterial blight, dwarf and black-streaked dwarf viruses, and planthoppers. The milled rice of this variety exhibited translucency and a medium short grain shape. It had an excellent appearance and lower amylose content (19.1%) than that of ‘Hwaseong’. The characteristics related to grain milling were better than those of ‘Hwaseong’, especially head rice milling recovery ratio and head rice ratio (94.8%). ‘Jungmo1033’ showed a milled rice productivity of 5.38 MT/ha at 11 sites under ordinary cultivation conditions. (Registration No. 5723)

“Samkwang1,” a japonica rice variety, was developed as a cross between “Samkwang” and F1 of Suwon152 (IT008283), which has a medium maturing and lodging resistance and Samkwang (IT284608), a high quality variety with bacterial blight resistance and mid-late maturing property by the rice breeding team at NICS in 2015. The heading date of “Samkwang1” was August 8 in the middle plain area, which was 2 days early than that of “Hwaseong.” “Samkwang1” had a culm length of 77 cm, which was 7 cm shorter than that of “Hwaseong,” and it had 128 spikelets per panicle. The viviparous germination rate of “Samkwang1” was 2.1%. “Samkwang1” showed resistance to blast, bacterial blight (K1, K2, and K3 race) and stripe virus, but was susceptible to the K3a race of bacterial blight, dwarf and black streak dwarf viruses, and plant hoppers. The milled rice of this variety exhibits translucent and medium short grains. The cooked rice grains of “Samkwang1” have an excellent palatability index (0.35) and lower protein content (6.2%) than that of “Hwaseong.” The characteristics related to grain milling were better than those of “Hwaseong,” especially the head rice milling recovery ratio and head rice ratio (94.2%). “Samkwang1” showed 5.62 MT/ha of milled rice productivity at 11 sites under ordinary cultivation conditions (Registration No. 6798).

“Hyangcheola” is a new japonica rice variety developed as a cross between “Joryeong” and “Seolhyangchal” by the rice breeding team at NICS in 2014. The heading date of “Hyangcheola” is July 28 in the middle plain area, which is 8 days earlier than that of “Hwaseong.” “Hyangcheola” has a 76 cm long culm, which is 8 cm shorter than “Hwaseong” and has 86 spikelets per panicle. The viviparous germination rate of “Hyangcheola” was 27.9%. It showed resistance to stripe virus but susceptibility to bacterial blight (K1, K2, and K3 races), dwarf and black streak dwarf viruses and planthoppers. The milled rice of this variety exhibits translucent and medium short grain shape. The protein content of “Hyangcheola” was 8.2%, which was 1.5% higher than that of “Hwaseong.” “Hyangcheola” is a rice with a fragrant aroma. The content of iron in 100 g of brown “Hyangcheola” rice was 15.12 mg, which is 3.69 mg higher than that of “Hwaseong,” and the zinc content was 32.24 mg, which is 8.75 mg more than that of the comparative variety “Hwaseong.” The average milled rice yield of “Hyangcheola” was 4.8 MT/ha at our sites under ordinary cultivation (Registration No. 6807).

‘Yeongwoo’, a mid-late flowering, high dry matter yielding rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivar with high feed value and multiple disease-insect resistance, was developed for whole crop silage (WCS) use. It was derived from a cross between a high biomass and brown planthopper (Bph) resistant ‘SR25848-C99-1-2-1’ and high yielding Tong-il type, ‘Yongmun’ which had diseases resistance. This cultivar had about 117 days growth period from seeding to heading, 99 cm culm length, 26 cm panicle length, 11 panicles per hill, 125 spikelets per panicle, and 1,000-grain weight of 23.6 g as brown rice in the central plain region, Suwon. This wide and long leafy WCS rice variety was weak to cold stresses, similarly to ‘Nokyang’ but was resistant to lodging in the field, strong to viviparous germination, and good under low temperature germination. In addition, ‘Yeongwoo’ was resistant to leaf and neck blast, bacterial blight (race K1, K2, K3, K3a), rice stripe virus, Bph, and small Bph. Its average dry matter yield for three years reached 20.0 MT/ha, 32% higher than that of ‘Nokyang’. This cultivar had 5.3% crude protein and 71.7% total digestible nutrients, which was slightly lower than that of ‘Nokyang’. In the Korean peninsula, ‘Yeongwoo’ grew well in the central and southern plain and was could be harvested between 15 to 30 days after heading to improve the feeding value and digestion rate of livestock (Grant No. 6800).

Joil’ is a multiple disease resistant early maturing rice cultivar with high grain quality. ‘Joil’ was derived from a single cross between ‘Unbong37’ (cultivar name ‘Unmi’) and ‘HR23156-26-2-3-5’. ‘Unmi’ is an early maturing rice cultivar with high grain quality and resistance to rice blast and stripe virus. ‘HR23156-26-2-3-5’ is an early maturing elite rice line with lodging resistance and cold tolerance. ‘Joil’ was selected through the pedigree method, yield trials, and local adaptability tests. ‘Joil’ was an early maturing rice. The heading date of ‘Joil’ was July 16 in early transplanting cultivation, which was 2 days later than that of ‘Jopyeong’. ‘Joil’ was a lodging resistance rice with a short culm and showed better tolerance to viviparous germination than that of ‘Jopyeong’. ‘Joil’ was a multiple disease resistant rice with resistance against rice blast, bacterial blight, and stripe virus. ‘Joil’ showed higher yield in both early and late-transplanting cultivations than those of the standard rice cultivars ‘Jopyeong’ and ‘Geumo’. ‘Joil’ had enhanced grain quality under high temperature ripening conditions in early transplanting cultivation. The cooked rice had good grain appearance and taste attributes, and this cultivar had a higher head rice ratio than that of ‘Jopyeong’. ‘Joil’, a multiple disease resistant early maturing rice cultivar with high grain quality, would be suitable for early transplanting cultivation in the southern plain area (Registration No. 6792).

Cheongpum’, a japonica rice variety, was developed from a cross between Yeongdeog45 and ‘Samkwang’ by the rice breeding team at NICS in 2015. The heading date of ‘Cheongpum’ was August 10 in the middle plain area, which was two days later than that of ‘Hwaseong’. ‘Cheongpum’ had a culm length of 79 cm, which was 5 cm shorter than that of ‘Hwaseong’, and 116 spikelets per panicle. The viviparous germination rate of ‘Cheongpum’ was 27.9%. It showed resistance to blast, bacterial blight (K1, K2, K3 race), and stripe virus, but susceptibility to the K3a race of bacterial blight, dwarf, and black streak dwarf viruses, and plant hoppers. The milled rice of this variety exhibited a translucent and medium short grain shape. The cooked rice grains of ‘Cheongpum’ had an excellent palatability index (0.41) and lower amylose content (18.8%) than that of ‘Hwaseong’. The grain milling characteristics were better than those of ‘Hwaseong’, especially the head rice milling recovery ratio and head rice ratio (94.1%). ‘Cheongpum’ showed 5.36 MT/ha of milled rice productivity at 11 sites under ordinary cultivation (Registration No. 6799).

The ‘Seonpum’ is a rice variety derived from a cross between ‘Junam’ which has translucent milled rice and mid-late maturity and ‘Iksan457’ that the elite line has a bacterial blight resistance and medium maturing property by the rice breeding team at NICS, RDA in 2003. The heading date of ‘Seonpum’ is August 11 and four days later than check variety, ‘Hwaseong’. It has 84 cm of culm length and 124 spikelets per panicle. This variety showed similar cold tolerance to ‘Hwaseong’ while exposed to cold stress. ‘Seonpum’ showed resistance to blast disease, stripe virus and K1, K2 and K3 race of bacterial blight, but susceptible to K3a race, other viruses and planthoppers. The milled rice of this variety exhibits translucent, clear non-glutinous endosperm and short grain shape. It has similar protein content (6.7%) and amylose content (19.4%) to that of ‘Hwaseong’. ‘Seonpum’ showed better palatability index of cooked rice than that of ‘Hwaseong’. Its milled rice recovery rate is similar to those of ‘Hwaseong’. However, whole grain rate of milled rice is higher than that of ‘Hwaseong’. ‘Seonpum’ has 5.74 MT/ha of milled rice productivity in ordinary cultivation. ‘Seonpum’ could be adaptable to the middle plain area in Korea. (Registration No.6810).

‘Nokwoo’, a mid-late maturing, high dry matter yielding rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivar with a good early growth and low-temperature germinability, was developed for whole crop silage (WCS) use. It was derived from a cross between a leafy tropical japonica ‘LK1A-2-12-1-1’ with high biomass and good germinability in low temperature and new plant type (NPT), ‘IR72225-29-1-1’ which had low tillering trait, large panicle, dark green leaf, thick and sturdy stem and vigorous root system. This cultivar had about 123 days growth period from seeding to heading, 122㎝ culm length, 29㎝ panicle length, 9 panicles per hill, 144 spikelets per panicle and 1,000-grain weight of 24.4 g as brown rice in central plain region, Suwon. This wide and long leafy WCS rice variety was weak to cold stresses similar to ‘Nokyang’ but was a little resistant to lodging in the field, strong to viviparous germination and good to low temperature germination. In addition, ‘Nokwoo’ was resistant to leaf and neck blast but susceptible to bacterial blight, rice stripe virus and brown planthopper. Its average dry matter yield for three years reached 16.5 MT/ha, 14% higher than that of ‘Nokyang’. This cultivar had 5.3% crude protein and 68.8% total digestible nutrients a little low compared to ‘Nokyang’. In Korea peninsular, ‘Nokwoo’ grows well in central and southern plain and is good to harvest between 15 to 30 days after heading to improve its feeding value and digestion rate of livestock (Grant No. 6072).

‘Sinhwangok’, a new maize F₁ hybrid (Zea mays L.), is developed by the maize breeding team at the National Institute of Crop Science (NICS), RDA in 2015. The high-yielding hybrid, named ‘Sinhwangok’ was bred by crossing between two inbred lines, ‘KS178’ and ‘KS145’. It is a yellow dent maize hybrid. After advanced yield trial of ‘Sinhwangok’ in Suwon for two years, regional yield trial was subsequently carried out for evaluation of its growth and yield at three different locations from 2012 to 2015. The days to silking of ‘Sinhwangok’ are 74. The plant height of ‘Sinhwangok’ is 241cm, similar to ‘Jangdaok’, and its ear height ratio is 51%, similar with that of ‘Jangdaok’. It has resistance to lodging. The number of ear per 100 plants is 96. The ear length of ‘Sinhwangok’ is 17cm, shorter than that of ‘Jangdaok’. The weight of 100 seeds of ‘Sinhwangok’ is 34.1g, similar to that of ‘Jangdaok’. It has moderate resistance to southern leaf blight (Bipolaris maydis). It has moderate resistance to European Corn Borer (Ostrinia nubilalis). The grain yield (8.9 ton/ha) of ‘Sinhwangok’ was 15% higher than that of ‘Jangdaok’. The seed production of ‘Sinhwangok’ was acceptable due to a good synchronization of flowering period during crossing between the seed parent, KS178, and the pollen parent, KS145, in Yeongwol and F₁ seed yield was 2.3 ton/ha. ‘Sinhwangok’ would be a suitable cultivar to all plain area in Korea.

The 'Misomi' is a rice variety derived from a cross between ‘Sobi’ which has adaptability of low fertilizer cultivation and SR21110 (Ilpum/Jinbu19) by the rice breeding team at National Institute of Crop Science, RDA in 2013. The heading date of ‘Misomi’ is August 14 and six days later than check variety, ‘Hwaseong’. It has 83 cm of culm length and 121 spikelets per panicle. It showed weaker cold tolerance than that of ‘Hwaseong’ during exposed to cold stress. ‘Misomi’ showed resistance to blast disease, K1, K2 and K3 race of bacterial blight and stripe virus, but susceptibility to K3a race, other viruses and planthoppers. The milled rice of this variety exhibits translucent, clear non-glutinous endosperm and short grain shape. It has low protein content (6.2%) and similar amylose content (19.4%) to that of ‘Hwaseong’. ‘Misomi’ showed better palatability index of cooked rice than that of ‘Hwaseong’. Particulary, ‘Misomi’ showed excellent processing adaptability than ‘Chucheong’ and ‘Hwaseong’ on palatability index of cold and aseptic cooked rice. Its milled rice recovery rate is similar to those of ‘Hwaseong’. However, whole grain rate of milled rice is higher than that of ‘Hwaseong’. 'Misomi' has 5.68 MT/ha of milled rice productivity in ordinary cultivation, which was 12% higher than that of ‘Hwaseong’. 'Misomi' could be adaptable to the middle plain area and Midwest coast area in Korea (Grant No. 5635).

‘Jungmo1038', a mid-late maturing, high dry matter yielding rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivar with glabrous leaf and hull, was developed for whole crop silage (WCS) use. It was derived from a cross between ‘SR24592-HB2319’ with high biomass, smooth leaf and hull and good germinability in low temperature and new plant type (NPT), ‘IR73165-B-6-1-1‘ which had low tillering trait, large panicle, dark green leaf, thick and sturdy stem and vigorous root system. This cultivar had about 125 days growth period from seeding to heading, 99cm culm length, 20cm panicle length, 13 panicles per hill, 119 spikelets per panicle and 1,000-grain weight of 23.3 g as brown rice in central plain region, Suwon. This hairless WCS rice variety was weak to cold stresses similar to ‘Nokyang’ but was resistant to lodging in the field, strong to viviparous germination and good to low temperature germination. In addition, ‘Jungmo1038’ was resistant to leaf and neck blast but susceptible to bacterial blight, rice stripe virus and brown planthopper. Its average dry matter yield for three years reached 17.2 MT/ha, 21% higher than that of ‘Nokyang’. This glabrous cultivar had 6.6% crude protein and 62.4% total digestible nutrients a little low compared to ‘Nokyang’. In Korea peninsular, 'Jungmo1038' grows well in central and southern plain and is good to harvest between 15 to 30 days after heading to improve its feeding value and digestion rate of livestock(Grant No. 5634).

‘Jungmo1024’ is a blast resistant early maturing rice cultivar with high temperature tolerance during grain filling stage. ‘Jungmo1024’ was derived from a sodium azide treatment on ‘Suweon472’, a high yielding japonica elite line which was latterly registered as ‘Namil’. Comparison with the agronomical traits of ‘Namil’, ‘Jungmo1024’ was uniquely characterized as the induced gained function due to the reduced culm length, increased tiller number, strong blast resistance and especially high temperature tolerance during grain filling stage. The high temperature tolerance of ‘Jungmo1024’ was supported by two years experiments by comparing the head rice ratio produced in ordinary paddy field and green house condition. The heading date of ‘Jungmo1024’ was July 29 in central plain area, which was 9 days earlier than that of ‘Hwaseong’. The milled rice yield performance of ‘Jungmo1024’ was about 4.98 MT/ha in local adaptability test for three years. ‘Jungmo1024’ had 69 cm in culm length, which was 15 cm shorter than that of ‘Hwaseong’, 20 cm in panicle length, 16 in tiller number, and 22.3g in 1,000 grain-weight of brown rice. ‘Jungmo1024’ exhibited strong rice blast resistance, but do not have any clear resistance gene sources against bacterial blight, viral diseases and insect fests. ‘Jungmo1024’, nevertheless, would be a useful rice cultivar could be used as a donor line for the breeding programs for developing southern plane adaptable early maturing rice cultivars with enhanced rice blast resistance, lodging tolerance, and especially high temperature tolerance during grain filling stage.