A white sesame variety ‘Nuri (Sesamum indicum L.)’ with resistance to Phytophthora blight disease was developed in 2016. It was derived from a cross between ‘Suwon 131’ and ‘Yangbaek’ in 1999. ‘Nuri’ has few branches and triple capsules per node. Notably, ‘Nuri’ exhibited resistance to Phytophthora blight and Fusarium wilt and a yield of approximately 1.19 tons per hectare, 17% higher than that of ‘Kopoom’. ‘Nuri’ presented a crude fat content of 49.0% and protein content of 26.1%. Thus, this variety would contribute to increased sesame production. (Registration no. 7889).

It is reported that the absence of lipoxygenase-3 (LOX-3) may contribute to a reduction in stale flavor after the storage of rice. To improve the quality of stored rice of the Korean japonica rice cultivar, we conducted a breeding program to develop near-isogenic rice without LOX-3 in the genetic background of Saenuri, a mega variety of Korea. In the first step of the breeding program, we used a donor parent of LOX-3 null, Daw Dam, and a recurrent japonica parent, Sindongjin, to develop HR27873-AC12 by backcross (BC₁), color test for introgression of lox-3, and anther culture for rapid fixation. In the second step, we used the donor parent, HR27873-AC12, and the recurrent parent, Saenuri, to develop HR28896-31-3-1-1 by backcross (BC₁), marker-assisted selection (MAS) for lox-3, and phenotypic selection (PS) for agronomic traits. Finally, in the third step, we developed HR30960-186-2-1-2-1 (Jeonju624), derived from a cross between Saenuri and HR28896-31-3-1-1, by MAS for lox-3 and PS with high selection pressure for agronomic characteristics. Jeonju624 was confirmed with the introgression of lox-3 by molecular marker. Jeonju624 was a mid-late maturing rice with similar agronomic characteristics to Saenuri, lodging tolerance with short culm, erect plant architecture, and resistance to bacterial blight and rice stripe virus. The yield components of Jeonju624 were mostly similar to Saenuri, except for the 1,000-grain weight of brown rice. The appearance of the grain of Jeonju624 was better than that of Saenuri, and the characteristics of cooked rice were similar to those of Saenuri. In the genetic background analysis using 406 KASP (Kompetitive Allele-Specific PCR) markers, Jeonju624 was confirmed to be the near-isogenic line (NIL) of Saenuri with a 95.8% recovery rate. Jeonju624 is the NIL of Saenuri without LOX-3, and overcomes the linkage drag of Daw Dam with similar agronomic characteristics and genetic background to Saenuri. Jeonju624 can be utilized as a practical cultivar to improve the quality of stored rice, breeding material for the introgression of lox-3, and genetic material to elucidate the effect of introgressed genes.

Consumer interest in nutrition and health has increased, for other food and industrial applications, including for barley. ‘Huknuri’ is a new naked non-waxy barley cultivar with black lemma. It was developed by the National Institute of Crop Science, RDA, in 2011. The initial cross was carried out in 2002, and an elite line (HB16225-B-B-9) was selected in 2006. Since then, through preliminary yield and advanced yield trials, it was designated as ‘Iksan 100’. It showed good agronomic performance in the regional yield trials from 2009 to 2011 and was released as ‘Huknuri’, possessing high anthocyanin content and black lemma with a non-waxy endosperm. The average heading and maturing dates of ‘Huknuri’ were April 23 and May 29 in paddy fields, which were one day earlier and the same as those of the check cultivar ‘Saessalbori’, respectively. It had a culm and spike length of 87 and 5.0 cm, respectively. It showed 601 spikes per m², 61 grains per spike, 29.0 g of 1,000-grain weight, and 780 g of test weight. ‘Huknuri’ showed better resistance to Barley yellow mosaic virus and higher water absorption and expansion rates than those of the check cultivar. Its average pearled grain yield in the regional yield trial was 3.44 MT/ha in upland, and 3.56 MT/ha in paddy fields, which were 5% lower and 1% higher than those of the check cultivar, respectively. The anthocyanin content was 180 µg/g, which was higher than that of the check cultivar.