In this study, we aimed to develop a method for the rapid and nondestructive prediction of wheat seed viability using Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS). Thirteen wheat cultivars were used to establish and validate an NIRS calibration model. The seed samples were divided into a calibration set (n=1,360) and a validation set (n=1,000), representing a wide range of germination rates created through the accelerated aging treatment (98±2% relative humidity, 40°C, 0-10 days). Spectral data were collected within the wavelength range of 400-2,500 nm. Among the three regression models tested, the Modified Partial Least Squares (MPLS) model exhibited the best performance for predicting seed viability, achieving the highest coefficient of determination (R²=0.936) and lowest standard error of calibration (SEC=7.514). The results of this study highlight the utility of NIRS-based models for the rapid, nondestructive assessment of seed viability in wheat. Additionally, this is the first study to apply NIRS for the nondestructive evaluation of wheat seed viability, providing a substantial advancement in seed quality assessment.

Plant germplasm is a part of living genetic resources, including seeds and plant materials, such as roots, leaves, and stems, and should be conserved and managed to maintain ecological biodiversity and to consistently generate the product and supply food crops. Plant germplasm can be categorized based on various genetic traits such as race, and clustering based on similar genetic traits is an efficient method for managing large numbers of germplasms. Therefore, we developed an algorithm, termed cacGMS (Clustering Analysis for Categorical genetic traits of germplasms in Genebank Management System), using categorical variables which statistically differentiate the datatype of genetic traits such as seed-coat color, seed shape, and flower color. Briefly, using Newman’s modularity method, cacGMS combines the hierarchical clustering algorithm using the Ward2 method and representative-based algorithms such as K-medoids, and it regroups all germplasms using germplasm core sets. We tested cacGMS using 2,378 pepper germplasms with 46 different categorical genetic traits, and it exhibited better performance than the hierarchical and K-medoids algorithms for the average distance among clusters (0.4534) and entropy (1.2672). Moreover, cacGMS showed better performance in terms of threshold (from 15 to 30) for genetic traits than other algorithms and provided similar results in a test run using tomato germplasm. From these results, we expect that cacGMS will be a useful tool for managing each group with numerous plant germplasms and facilitate the analysis of other studies, such as analysis of representative characteristics of clustered germplasms and of correlations among germplasms in a particular cluster.

Fusarium wilt is a serious disease that causes damping-off, serious wilt symptoms, or death in melon. The aim of this study was to evaluate the resistance of melon germplasm to Fusarium wilt and select promising disease-resistant accessions for further applications. Resistance to Fusarium wilt was examined in 216 melon germplasms by the root-dipping inoculation method with Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. melonis fungal isolate KACC43206 (race 2). Inoculated seedlings were incubated for four weeks and assessed for disease symptoms using indices ranging from index 1 (no symptoms) to 5 (plant wither). A total of 34 accessions showed a disease index < 2.0. Disease indices of 10 accessions were 1.0 four weeks after inoculation. The resistant accessions of melon are expected to help in breeding commercial varieties with Fusarium wilt resistance.

This experiment was carried out to compare the morphological traits of 880 Korean soybean landraces from RDA genebank. Days to flowering were ranged from 51 to 104 days with an average of 74.4 days, days from flowering to maturity were ranged from 28 to 106 days with an average of 72.2 days, days from planting to maturity were ranged from 101 to 188 days with an average 146.6 days. Growth days were the shortest with 140.6 days in soybean landraces from Gangwon Province, and the longest with 152.8 days in those from Jeju Province. The 100 seed weight was ranged from 4.3 to 46.4 g with an average of 26.1 g, higher than other studies, relatively. The 100 seed weight was the lightest from Gyeongnam Province (22.7 g), and the heaviest from Chungnam Province (29.1 g). The highest percentage of seed coat color was black (52.4%), followed by yellow (28.5%). Landraces from Gyeongnam Province was the most yellow seed coat with 50.7%, seed coat color of those from Jeju was similar proportion in yellow (33.3%), green (25.9%) and black one (40.7%), and that from Gyeonggi was more green (28.8%) than yellow (16.7%). As a result of cotyledon color in 460 black seed was 59.7% with yellow, 40.1% with green. Three hundred fifty accessions of Korean soybean landraces were analyzed using 7 SSR markers. One hundred ten alleles were detected with a lowest 10 at the Satt307 and a highest 26 at the Satt173. The average polymorphism information content (PIC) was 0.71. Gene diversity was the highest in Jeju province while the lowest in Jeonnam.