To develop early ripening sweet persimmon varieties with high fruit qualities, ‘Danyeon 104’ was crossed with ‘Taishuu’ at the Sweet Persimmon Research Institute, Gyeongsangnam-do Agricultural Research & Extension Services in 2010. In 2015, ‘10-1-60’ was selected and investigated from among the seedlings of this cross, and in 2018, it was confirmed as a superior variety for the production of large-sized sweet persimmon with good fruit qualities and was named ‘Dannuri’. The ‘Dannuri’ trees grew vigorously in the early stage and exhibited a spreading shape as they aged. The flowers possessed both the female and male organs. The full blooming date of ‘Dannuri’ was May 22, which was close to that of ‘Taishuu’ (May 19). The average harvest time of ‘Dannuri’ was 143 days after the full bloom, and it matured approximately one week earlier than ‘Taishuu’. The fruits of ‘Dannuri’ were characterized by beautiful orange skin color with round flat shape with an average weight of 320 g—which was 1.2-fold higher than that of ‘Taishuu’ (265 g)—and soluble solids content of 18.4 °Brix, which was also higher than that of ‘Taishuu’ (17.2 °Brix). Additionally, the marketable fruit rate of ‘Dannuri’ was 90.0%, which was also higher than that of ‘Taishuu’ (70.2%), and this could be attributed to less skin blackening. For the stable production of ‘Dannuri’, it is necessary to maintain proper tree vigor by paying extra attention to the use of organic compost (Registration No. 8504).

This study was performed to evaluate the characteristics of wheat flour and sourdough bread quality of five Korean bread wheat cultivars, hard red winter wheat (HRW), and T55 (a French commercial wheat flour). Among the cultivars assessed, the protein and gluten contents and SDS-sedimentation values of Joongmo2008 were the highest, Keumkang were similar to those of HRW, and those of the Baekkang, Jokyung, and Hwanggeum were similar to those of T55. Joongmo 2008 and Keumkang had glutenin contents similar to those of HRW and T55, whereas Baekkang and Hwanggeum had higher HMW-GS (high molecular weight-glutenin subunit) and lower LMW-GS (low molecular weight-glutenin subunit) contents than HRW and T55. The α+β gliadin contents of Jungmo2008 and Keumkang were higher than those of other varieties and similar to those of HRW, whereas the γ- and ω-gliadin contents of Baekkang and Hwanggeum were similar to those of T55. Mixolab analysis revealed that Joongmo2008 and Keumkang had water absorption and kneading characteristics similar to those of HRW, and that Baekkang, Hwanngeum, and Jokyung showed characteristics similar to those of T55. Campagne and baguettes prepared using Korean wheat flour were similar in appearance to those prepared using T55 or HRW, the bread volume of campagne bread was smaller than that of T55, and the volume of baguettes were similar to that of T55. Joongmo2008 showed a higher bread volume than other Korean wheat cultivars, which was similar to that of HRW. The quality of sourdough bread prepared from Korean wheat flour was similar to that made with commercial flour, although the bread prepared using Joongmo2008 was found to be superior to that prepared using the flour of other Korean wheat cultivars.

“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).

The persimmon cultivar Gamnuri (Diospyros kaki Thunb.) is a new pollination-constant astringent (PCA) type developed by the Sweet Persimmon Research Institute of Gyeongsangnam-do Agricultural Research & Extension Services. This cultivar was selected from the seedlings of the cross between the Sunami and Johongsi cultivars in 1997. After being selected as a prominent seedling line in 2006, its tree growth and fruit characteristics were investigated from 2016 to 2017. The tree grew vigorously during the young stage and showed a spreading shape as it aged. Only female flowers bloomed. The flowering and harvest dates were May 20 and October 16, respectively, which was similar to that of the Sangju-Dungsi control cultivar. The fruits of Gamnuri were characterized by a red-orange skin color with a round, flat shape. The average fruit size was 370 g, which was 1.7 times larger than that of the control. Ninety-three percent of the fruit was marketable with a rare occurrence of calyx-end cracking, which was similar to that of the Sangju-Dungsi cultivar. The soluble solids and flesh firmness were 16.7°Bx and 15.8N, respectively, which was lower than that of the control. Notably, matured fruits maintained their quality for an extended period of time on the tree. When the fruits from the Gamnuri cultivar were processed into sliced-dried fruits, the product had a great taste with good color.

‘Migamjosaeng’ (Diospyros kaki Thunb.) is a new pollination-variant non-astringent type (PVNA) persimmon cultivar developed by Sweet Persimmon Research Institute of Gyeongnam Agricultural Research & Extension Services. This cultivar was selected among the seedlings obtained from the cross between ‘Mazumotowase-Fuyu’ and ‘Nishimurawase’ in 1995. The seedlings were cultivated from 1996 to 2001 and ‘Migamjosaeng’ was selected in 2002. The tree growth habit and fruit characteristics of ‘Migamjosaeng’ were investigated from 2004 to 2007. The tree growth habit was moderate vigor and showed spreading shape. Flowers bloomed only in female flowers. The flowering time was similar to that of ‘Nishimurawase’ (control) in late May, but the harvest time was about 3 days earlier than ‘Nishimurawase’ in late September. ‘Migamjosaeng’ is characterized by its beautiful orange skin color with round flat shape of fruits. Average fruit size was about 160g. Soluble solids were 16.6°Brix and higher than that of control (14.5°Brix), which contributed to its excellent tastiness. It was noteworthy that occurrence of calyx-end cracked fruits and striped fruit was very rare compared with the control. Therefore, ‘Migamjosaeng’ trees produced marketable fruits much higher than the control tree. Flesh firmness was slightly high and similar to ‘Nishimurawase’.