‘Ganghan’ is a high-yielding soybean (Glycine max L. Merrill) cultivar developed for improved shattering resistance and suitability for mechanized harvesting. It was bred through pedigree selection after an artificial cross between ‘Taeseon’ (female parent) and ‘Cheonga’ (male parent) in 2015. ‘Ganghan’ is a determinate type with an average main stem length of 65 cm and first pod height of 19.6 cm, which is favorable for mechanical harvesting. Compared to the control cultivar ‘Daewonkong,’ it showed stronger lodging tolerance and carried a genetic allele associated with pod shattering resistance. In disease resistance evaluations, it exhibited higher resistance than ‘Daewonkong’ to soybean mosaic virus (G6H), bacterial pustule, and black root rot. Regarding seed quality, it contained 38.8% protein, 17.6% oil, 86.1% unsaturated fatty acids, and 3,124 μg/g total isoflavones. The tofu yield was 232%, with mechanical properties and color comparable to ‘Daewonkong.’ In fermentation processing tests, ‘Ganghan’ recorded a γ-PGA content of 11.4 mg/g and amino nitrogen content of 390 mg%, indicating potential use in traditional fermented soy foods. In regional yield trials (RYT) conducted across 10 locations from 2020 to 2022, ‘Ganghan’ had an average yield of 3.58 tons/ha, 14% higher than that of ‘Daewonkong’. The adoption and expansion of ‘Ganghan’ is expected to contribute to increased domestic soybean productivity, harvest efficiency, and cultivation stability under changing climate conditions, thereby improving the domestic soybean self-sufficiency rate (Registration No. 10459).

‘Sinbaram’ is a new cultivar developed for soy sprout production at the National Institute of Crop Science (NICS). It was developed using the line breeding method in 2010 by artificially crossing ‘Pungsannamulkong’(IT263156) with the ‘HS1371-49-2-2’ line in 2010. F₁ plants and the F₂ population were developed in 2011 and 2012, respectively, and a promising line was selected using F₃ to F₅ in the pedigree method. It was evaluated for agronomic traits, yield, and soy sprout characteristics in a preliminary (PYT) and an advanced (AYT) yield trial in 2016 and 2017, respectively. ‘Sinbaram’ has purple flowers, a lanceolate leaflet shape, grey pubescence, and small yellow seeds (10.2 g/100 seeds). The flowering and maturing dates were August 4 and October 9, which were 2 and 5 days earlier than ‘Pungsannamulkong.’ Plant height, first pod height, number of nods, number of branches, and number of pods were 46 cm, 10 cm, 14, 3.5, and 82, respectively. The germination rate and sprout characteristics were similar to those of ‘Pungsannamulkong’, and the yield was 83% higher in the sprout test. In the yield test, the yield was 3.58 tons/ha in the 2-year yield trial, which was 1% higher than that of ‘Pungsangnamulkong,’ and 2.71 tons/ha in the 3-year regional yield trial, 8% lower than that of ‘Pungsannamulkong’, with an average of 2.71 tons/ha in the four regions. In addition, the overall score of 6.7 in the processor survey was higher than 6.0 for ‘Pungsannamulkong.’ Therefore, the ‘Sinbaram’ cultivar is expected to be preferred because it has good sprout characteristics. (Registration number: 9460)

Bacterial pustule is a major bacterial disease in most soybean-growing regions of Korea, resulting in soybean yield reductions of up to 60%. In this study, we aimed to understand the differences in disease severity caused by three strains of Xanthomonas citri pv. glycines, including two newly differentiated strains (K29 and K100) and the conventional representative strain, 8ra. Seventeen major soybean cultivars and 14 breeding lines were inoculated and compared for their reactions to the three strains of Xcg. The two new strains caused higher levels of disease severity, resulting in a greater number of susceptible cultivars. The landrace PI 547711, like Williams 82, was highly resistant to all Xcg strains; however, the other six cultivars that were resistant to 8ra, including Daepung2, were susceptible to the new strains (K29 and K100). In particular, the most widely grown cultivars, Daewon and Daepung2, were highly susceptible to K100. All of the breeding lines except two were also vulnerable to the new strains, K100 and K29. Of the breeding lines, SS05004-1-1-4-2-3-4 and SS05022-5-4-2-4-4-4 were resistant to the three Xcg strains, at similar levels to that of Williams 82. The breeding lines and cultivars evaluated in this study may be used to develop breeding materials resistant to new Xcg strains in the future. In addition, establishment of an improved disease evaluation system for bacterial pustule, by using multiple representative strains, is strongly recommended for breeding programs, to increase the efficiency and accuracy of selection for resistance as the pathogenic diversity of X. citri pv. glycines changes.