‘Alchanheukchal’ is a single-cross hybrid waxy corn cultivar developed by using the inbred line ‘KBW16’ as the seed parent and ‘KBW23’ as the pollen parent. Yield trials were conducted in 2013 and 2015 followed by regional adaptability tests at six locations over three years (2018-2020). Recognized for its superior performance, it was designated as a new variety by the NICS in 2020. ‘Alchanheukchal’ contains 32.9 μg 100 g^-1 of anthocyanins, resulting in black-colored ears and exhibiting an intermediate ear shape. Its silking period was 74 days, equivalent to that of the standard variety ‘Ilmichal’. The ear length was 19.3 cm, similar to ‘Ilmichal’, while the kernel set rate was 94%, which was lower than that of ‘Ilmichal’. In terms of disease and pest resistance, including southern rust, northern corn leaf blight, and corn borer, as well as lodging resistance, ‘Alchanheukchal’ was comparable to ‘Ilmichal’. The number of ears and ear weight per 10a were 6,336 ears and 1,136 kg, respectively, which indicates a higher ear number but lower ear weight than ‘Ilmichal’. The 100-kernel weight was 27.7 g, smaller than that of ‘Ilmichal’. In sensory evaluation tests, the overall acceptability score was 4.7, which was lower than that of ‘Ilmichal’. The highest seed production efficiency was observed when the planting ratio of the seed parent to pollen parent was 2:1. However, because the silking date of the pollen parent occurred later, it was considered necessary to perform staggered sowing (Registration No. 10033).

‘Godangok 2’, a yellow sweet corn hybrid obtained by crossing inbred KSE14 (female) and KSE23 (male) varieties harboring the sugary enhancer (se) gene, was developed by the maize breeding team at the National Institute of Crop Science (NICS), Rural Development Administration, Korea, in 2020. Days to silking of ‘Godangok 2’ (65 days) was 3 days later than ‘Danok 3’ (check hybrid, 62 days). The ear length of ‘Godangok 2’ (18.9 cm) was similar to that of ‘Danok 3’, but it exhibited a higher kernel filling rate (97%). In addition, the lodging tolerance of ‘Godangok2’ was greater than that of ‘Danok3’. The number of ears per 10a in Godangok2 (6,177) was 4% higher than that in ‘Danok 3’, whereas ear weights (1,075 kg) were 4% lower. ‘Godangok 2’ had a high sugar content of 23.4° Brix, a thin pericarp thickness of 21.4 μm, and a light 100-kernel weight of 25.4 g compared to that of the check hybrid. ‘Godangok 2’ showed the highest seed yield of 270 kg/10a at a 4 (female):1 (male) planting ratio. Because ‘Godangok 2’ carries the recessive se gene, its unique qualities may be compromised by cross-pollination with other corn varieties (e.g., sh2, bt, wx types). Therefore, to maintain sweet corn quality, corn should be grown and harvested separately in time and space (Registration No. 10059).

‘KM7’, a maize hybrid for grain production, was developed for the Southeast Asian seed market by the maize breeding team of the National Institute of Crop Science (NICS), Rural Development Administration (RDA) in 2020. The hybrid, ‘KM7’, was bred by crossing two inbred lines, CL32 and 14K23. After a one-year yield trial in Dong Trieu, Vietnam, country adaptability trials were performed three times in three different countries (Vietnam, Cambodia, and Indonesia) in both 2019 and 2020. The seed type was flint-like and suitable for both food and feed. ‘KM7’ adapted well to conditions in northern Vietnam, northwestern Cambodia, and Central Java in Indonesia. The silking date of ‘KM7’ in Vietnam was 62 d, which was 1 d earler than that of LCH9, a leading cultivar in Vietnam. ‘KM7’ is an early maturing, high-grain yielding F1 hybrid that is also resistant to downy mildew. ‘KM7’ produced a grain yield of 842, 831, and 950 kg/10a in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Indonesia, respectively. This demonstrated a higher yield than that of the leading cultivars in each respective country. ‘KM7’ produced 26% more grain in Vietnam, 28% more in Cambodia, and 56% more in Indonesia than the respective control varieties (Registration No. 10034).

‘KM3’ is an F1 hybrid maize developed by the maize breeding team at the National Institute of Crop Science (NICS), Rural Development Administration (RDA), for the Southeast Asian seed market. This hybrid was obtained by crossbreeding two inbred lines—14K26 and 15VL027. The hybrid was evaluated in a crop-year yield trial in Cambodia, followed by country adaptability trials in Cambodia and Indonesia in 2016 and 2017, respectively. The flint-like seed type of ‘KM3’ makes it suitable for both food and feed, demonstrating its adaptability to Southeast Asia. ‘KM3’ exhibited early maturity, high grain yield as an F1 hybrid, and resistance to downy mildew. The silking date of ‘KM3’ was two days earlier than that of the leading cultivar ‘CP888’ in Cambodia, with a grain yield of 913 kg/10a, outperforming ‘CP888’ by 26% (Registration No. 9319).

‘KM5,’ a high grain yielding maize hybrid, was developed for the Southeast Asian seed market in 2018 by the maize breeding team of the National Institute of Crop Science (NICS), Rural Development Administration (RDA). ‘KM5’ was bred by crossing two inbred lines—14K23 and CL59. After a 1-crop year yield trial in Dong Trieu and Vietnam, country adaptability trials were performed in 2017 and 2018 in three different countries—Vietnam, Cambodia, and Indonesia. The seed type is flint-like and suitable for both food and feed. ‘KM5’ adapted well to northern Vietnam, northwestern Cambodia, and Central Java in Indonesia. It is an early maturing, high grain yield F1 hybrid that is also resistant to downy mildew. The silking date of ‘KM5’ in Vietnam is 74 days, which is the same as that of LCH9—a leading cultivar in Vietnam. ‘KM5’ produced a grain yield of 695, 764, and 678 kg/10a in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Indonesia, respectively, thus demonstrating a higher yield than the leading cultivar in each country. ‘KM5’ produced 2%, 27%, and 8% more grain than the respective control varieties in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Indonesia, respectively (Registration No. 8947).

‘KM2’, a maize hybrid grain was developed for the Southeast Asian seed market by the maize breeding team of the Rural Development Administration (RDA), South Korea 2018. ‘KM2’ was bred by crossing two inbred lines, ‘15VL065’ and ‘KS155’. After a advanced yield trial at Dong Trieu, Vietnam, for the first cropping cycle in 2016, country adaptability trials were performed twice in three different countries: Vietnam, Cambodia, and Indonesia, in 2016 and 2017. ‘KM2’, a yellow intermediate seed for food and feed, adapts well to the northern Vietnam, northwestern Cambodia, and Central Java in Indonesia. It is an early maturing high-grain yield F1 hybrid. This hybrid is resistant to downy mildew, but not corn rust. The silking date of ‘KM2’ is 10 days earlier than that of ‘LVN10’, a leading cultivar in Vietnam. ‘KM2’ produced grain yields of 811 kg/10a, 845 kg/10a, and 783 kg/10a in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Indonesia, respectively, showing even higher grain yield than the countries’ respective leading cultivar. ‘KM2’ produced 61%, 17%, and 14% higher grain yield in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Indonesia, respectively, than their respective control cultivars (‘LVN10’, ‘CP888’, ‘P21’) (Registration No. 8192).

‘Godangok1’, a sweet corn hybrid obtained by crossing the inbred KSE13 (female) and KSE37 (male), was developed by the maize breeding team at the National Institute of Crop Science (NICS), Rural Development Administration, Korea, in 2016. ‘Godangok1’ has the sugary enhancer (se) gene, and the ear is yellow-white. The number of days to silking of ‘Godangok1’ was 59, similar to ‘Danok3’ (check variety), but ear length and the ratio of kernel set length to ear length (18.7 cm and 96%, respectively) were superior to those of ‘Danok3’. The resistance to Bipolaris maydis, Exserohilum turcicum, and Ostrinia furnacalis was similar to that exhibited by ‘Danok3’, whereas the lodging tolerance was stronger than that of ‘Danok3’. The fresh ear yield of ‘Godangok1’ was 6,530 ears, with 1,139 kg per 10a, and the sugar content was 20.8 °Brix. The hundred kernel weight was 27.4 g, smaller than that of ‘Danok3’. The flavor was excellent and assigned a sensory score of 5.7. Unique properties of ‘Godangok1’ coded by the recessive se gene are eliminated due to crosspollination when growing along with other types of corn such as general corn (sh, sh2, bt, etc.). Therefore, it must be isolated in time or space and harvested in order to produce high-quality sweet corn (Registration No. 7506).

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)

Hwangmichal, a yellow waxy corn hybrid, is a single cross hybrid developed in 2014. This hybrid was created by crossing the seed parent KY30 and pollen parent KY9. Hwangmichal has yellow kernels with a conico-cylindrical ear shape. The days to silking of Hwangmichal were similar to that of Ilmichal, a check hybrid. The ear height ratio of Hwangmichal was 50%, which was lower than that of Ilmichal, and its number of tillers was less than that of Ilmichal. The ear size of Hwangmichal was smaller than that of Ilmichal and the kernel set ratio was 89%. Its sensory evaluation was better than that of Ilmichal. The carotenoid content of Hwangmichal was 32.2 µg/g, which was much higher than that of Ilmichal. Lodging resistance of Hwangmichal was better than that of Ilmichal. Although the number of fresh ears of Hwangmichal was more than that of Ilmichal, the weight of fresh ears was lower than that of Ilmichal. The flowering period of its parent lines was well matched and seed production was 3:1 at a planting density of parent lines of more than 2:1. It is adaptable to the whole country except for Jeju-do. The plant variety protection right of Hwangmichal was registered in June 2017, and its grant number is 6728.

‘Daname’ is a foxtail millet(Setaria italica Beauv.) variety developed and registered by Department of Southern Area Crop Science, NICS, RDA in 2014. This variety which collected from IT252182 was developed through pure line selection. ‘Daname’ is a early-maturing variety having 100 days of growth period from seeding to harvesting in Milyang of Korea. The culm length is about 97 cm which is 20cm shorter culm length than standard variety ‘Hwanggeumjo’, and it showed tolerant to lodging in field. The panicle shape is a cylindrical and the length is about 19cm. According to the grain, seed color and dehusked grain colors are orange and yellow and endosperm characteristic is non-glutinous. The yield performance of this variety was about 3.81 t ha^-1 in local adaptability test from 2013 to 2014 and it showed similar with standard variety ‘Hwanggeumjo’. As the addition amount of ‘Daname’ in rice increased from 0% to 30% and 100%, the antioxidant ability of ‘Daname’ added rice and hardness/stickiness balances were increased. But we could not find out the difference of hardness/stickiness balances between 0%and 10% addition. So, 10% addition amount was concluded to increase antioxidant ability regardless eating quality of cooked rice. (Variety registration No. 6243)

The sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) variety ‘Sodamchal’ was developed and registered by Department of Sothern Area Crop Science, National Institute of Crop Science (NICS) in 2013. This variety was developed from the cross between ‘Hwanggeumchal’ with brown grain and ’Jungmo4001’ with semi-dwarf trait. ‘Sodamchal’ is the first semi-dwarf stature with waxy endosperm ever developed in Korea. The yield performance of ‘Sodamchal’ was 2.95 MT/ha in local adaptability test for 2 years. It had 91 cm culm length, which was 58 cm shorter than that of ‘Hwanggeumchal’, 26.3 cm panicle length, 22.0 mm thickness of culm, 21.1 g in 1,000 grain weight. It could be reduce the lodging problem and also adapted to mechanized cultivation. ‘Sodamchal’ produces high quantities of polyphenol and radical scavenging activitiy with diphenyl-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2’-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) in pigmented testa. Above all ‘Sodamchal’ is suitable for use as a parental source for the development of improved pollinator parent lines for developing semi-dwarf sorghum with waxy endosperm and antioxidant activity. (Variety registration No. 6244)

The sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) variety ‘Sodamchal’ was developed and registered by Department of Sothern Area Crop Science, National Institute of Crop Science (NICS) in 2013. This variety was developed from the cross between ‘Hwanggeumchal’ with brown grain and ’Jungmo4001’ with semi-dwarf trait. ‘Sodamchal’ is the first semi-dwarf stature with waxy endosperm ever developed in Korea. The yield performance of ‘Sodamchal’ was 2.95 MT/ha in local adaptability test for 2 years. It had 91 cm culm length, which was 58 cm shorter than that of ‘Hwanggeumchal’, 26.3 cm panicle length, 22.0 mm thickness of culm, 21.1 g in 1,000 grain weight. It could be reduce the lodging problem and also adapted to mechanized cultivation. ‘Sodamchal’ produces high quantities of polyphenol and radical scavenging activitiy with diphenyl-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2’-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) in pigmented testa. Above all ‘Sodamchal’ is suitable for use as a parental source for the development of improved pollinator parent lines for developing semi-dwarf sorghum with waxy endosperm and antioxidant activity. (Variety registration No. 6244)

A ‘Hayanchal95’, a new waxy corn hybrid, is a single cross hybrid developed by the maize breeding team at the National Institute of Crop Science (NICS), Rural Development Administration(RDA) in 2011. This hybrid was made by crossing between seed parent KW44 and pollen parent KW35. Days to silking of Hayanchal95 was three days earlier than Ilmichal, a check hybrid. Ear length and diameter of Hayanchal95 were 18.3 cm and 4.1 cm, respectively. The ratio of kernel set length to ear length was 90% and lower than Ilmichal. Its quality characteristics like amylopectin content, hardness of kernels, and value of sensory evaluation were not significantly different from Ilmichal except grain length. Resistance to corn borer and lodging tolerance of Hayanchal95 were better than Ilmichal. The number of fresh ears was similar to those of Ilmichal and weight of fresh ears was lower than Ilmichal in regional yield trials (RYT) from 2009 to 2011. Although flowering time of its parent lines was good match during crossing between the seed and pollen parents, seed production was low. It is adaptable to the whole country. Plant variety protection right of ‘Hayanchal95’ was registered in July 2014, and its grant number is 5110.

‘Ibaekchal’ is a proso millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) variety developed and registered by Department of Sothern Area Crop Science, NICS, RDA in 2011. This variety which collected from Jeju was developed through pure line selection. ‘Ibaekchal’ is a medium late maturing variety having 109 days of growth duration from transplanting to harvesting in Milyang of Korea. The culm length is about 140 cm which is longer culm length than standard variety ‘Hwanggeumgigang’. However it is adapted to mechanized cultivation because it is tolerant to lodging in field. The panicle shape is a severe droopy type and the length is 40 cm. According to the grain, color and endosperm characteristics are white and glutinous. The milled yield performance of this variety was about 2.29 MT/ha in local adaptability test from 2010 to 2011 and it showed 15% increase than standard variety ‘Hwanggeumgigang’. Since Ibaekchal has adaptability to late planting, it is suitable for double cropping in mid and South Korea.

A single cross hybrid, ‘Godangok’, is a yellow sweet corn developed by the maize breeding team at the National Institute of Crop Science (NICS), Rural Development Administration (RDA) in 2011. This hybrid was produced by crossing between KSE5 and KSE19. KSE5 is a seed parent and KSE19 is a pollen parent of Godangok. Days to silking of Godangok was 3 days later than Danok 3, a check hybrid. Ear length and diameter of Godangok were 17.6 cm and 4.4 cm, respectively. The ratio of kernel set length to ear length was 87.1%. These characteristics of ear were similar to those of the check hybrid. However, the Degree Brix was 24.3 °Bx, higher than the check hybrid, 14.1 °Bx. Lodging tolerance of Godangok was better than the check hybrid. The number and weight of fresh ear of Godangok were similar to those of the check hybrid in regional yield trials (RYT) from 2009 to 2011. Seed production of this hybrid is good due to good match between the seed and pollen parent. It is adaptable to the whole country. Plant variety protection right of ‘Godangok’ was registered in July 2014, and its grant number is 5094.

‘Samdachal’ is a foxtail millet variety developed and registered by Department of Functional Crop, NICS, RDA in 2011. This variety was developed through pure line breeding method from Jeju landrace. ‘Samdachal’ is a medium maturing variety having 133 days of growth duration from transplanting to harvesting in Milyang of Korea. The culm length is about 128 cm which is longer culm length than standard variety ‘Hwanggeumejo’. However it is adapted to mechanized cultivation because it is tolerant to lodging in field. The panicle shape is a cylinder type and the length is 28cm. Regarding to the grain, color and endosperm characteristics are grey and glutinous. The Calcium, Magnesium and polyphenol contents in grain are showed higher than standard variety ‘Hwanggeumejo’. The milled yield performance of this variety is about 2.24 MT/ha in local adaptability test from 2010 to 2011. ‘Samdamchal’ would be adaptable to plain area of Korea.