A comprehensive evaluation of 515 Korean wheat germplasms, including cultivars, experimental lines, and landraces, was conducted over 2 years under upland field conditions to characterize major agronomic and grain traits. Allelic variation at 13 key functional loci was assessed using Kompetitive Allele-Specific PCR (KASP) and PCR-based markers. The winter-type vrn-A1 with a single copy (CNV=1; 40.2%) advanced heading by approximately 5 days compared to multiple-copy genotypes, and winter-type vrn-B1 (88.5%) advanced heading by 2 days compared to the spring-type. The photoperiod-insensitive alleles Ppd-B1a (5.6%) and Ppd-D1a (76.3%) advanced heading by 3 and 4 days, respectively, with a combined effect of up to 6 days. Semi-dwarfing alleles Rht-B1b and Rht-D1b showed reduced culm lengths of 2.1 cm and 4.7 cm, respectively, and the Rht-B1a/Rht-D1b genotype was 6 cm shorter than Rht-B1a/Rht-D1a. The Pina-D1a/Pinb-D1a genotype had the lowest kernel hardness value (32.2), whereas Pina-D1b/Pinb-D1a had the highest (60.5). The thousand kernel weight ranged from 36.1 mg to 42.5 mg depending on the allelic combinations of TaCwi-A1, TaGW2-6A, and TaSus2-2B. Cultivars and experimental lines were clearly distinguished from landraces based on phenotype-based clustering, with the majority of cultivars (81.6%) and experimental lines (68.3%) grouped into cluster III. In contrast, landraces were predominantly distributed in clusters I (55.1%) and II (29.2%). Random forest analysis identified four genes, Ppd-D1, Pina-D1, Pinb-D1, and WAPO-A1, as major contributors to cluster classification. Cluster III was highly enriched with alleles favorable for earliness (Ppd-D1a, 98.3%) and grain hardness (Pina-D1b and Pinb-D1b, 57.9%). WAPO-A1b, an allele associated with an increased spikelet number per spike, was more frequently observed in clusters I (94.6%) and II (79.1%) than in cluster III (58.4%).

To compare agronomic and seed traits of 135 common bean landraces originating from Korea, Bulgaria, and El Salvador, we evaluated 20 morphological traits and performed principal component analysis (PCA). In the PCA, the first and second principal components accounted for 55.15% and 15.97% of the total variance, respectively. The first component showed a strong positive correlation with seed size and 100-seed weight, whereas the second component produced a strong negative correlation with days to flowering and days to maturity, indicating that these traits may explain the differences between landraces originating from different countries. Landraces from Korea showed higher variation in days to flowering and days to maturity; those from Bulgaria produced larger and heavier seeds; those from El Salvador produced smaller and lighter seeds and flowering and maturity occurred earlier. In addition, the landraces from El Salvador had relatively lower diversity compared to those from other countries, as they were grouped within a small cluster in the PCA. These evaluation results may provide important information for selecting breeding materials, and diversity analyses of landraces from different countries provide information for securing genetic resources.

Root development at the seedling stage is an important trait for the early growth of rice. In this study, the root length and weight of 211 Korean landrace rice at the seedling stage were evaluated, and the average root length and weight were 6.94 cm and 48.18 mg, respectively. Principal component analysis (PCA) of 211 accessions based on 70,849 SNPs presented three subgroups. Two quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with root length were detected on chromosomes 3 and 6 using genome-wide association study (GWAS). Four haplotypes were identified using associated SNPs for the two root length QTLs. The average root length of Hap2 and Hap 3 was 7.32 cm and 6.56 cm, respectively, and were significantly different. Gene expression analysis in the candidate regions of QTLs for root length at the seedling stage showed that several genes were expressed in the root. QTLs associated with root length at the seedling stage identified in this study may be applied to improve the root length trait and detect candidate genes.

In this study, composition and agronomic traits, including yield-related traits, were investigated and compared among 35 Korean landrace germplasm for two years (2019 and 2020). The contents of 12 isoflavones were measured using high-performance liquid chromatography, and agronomic trait data were collected according to the Rural Development Administration criteria. Comparing isoflavone composition between the two years, all isoflavones, except glycitein, were generally higher in 2019. The values of yield-related and major agronomic traits decreased in most accessions in 2020. ANOVA showed highly significant differences (p<0.001) in genotypes, years, and genotype-by-year interaction for all isoflavones, the number of pods per plant, and 100-seed weight. The number of seeds per pod, days to flowering, and days to maturity also showed significant differences among genotypes, as well as between the two years. Correlation analysis revealed that daidzin and genistin were positively correlated with their malonylated form. Malonyl daidzin was also positively correlated with malonyl genistin levels. The accessions with the least variation in the total isoflavone content were IT 153844 (907.5 µg/g, 898.6 µg/g) and IT 252252 (663.2 µg/g, 636.4 µg/g). Some of the evaluated landraces will be a promising genetic source for developing soybean varieties with high levels of environmental stability in isoflavone content and agronomic traits.

Rice landrace germplasms are highly valuable because of their wide genetic variation. Their traits have not been selected by modern breeders but by nature, thus, these traits and the gene associated with them have tremendous potential to improve modern rice cultivars. The first step to utilize this potential is to conduct a thorough evaluation of the target traits to select superior germplasm for a breeding program. Here, with 386 Korean landrace germplasms, we evaluated mesocotyl elongation traits which possibly promote direct seedling cultivation in rice. Mesocotyl length ranged from 0 mm to 28 mm. Among the tested landraces, we selected and reported the top 20 performing landraces whose mesocotyl length were larger than 16 mm. The previously reported agronomic traits for the selected 20 landraces were also listed for breeders to promote the utilization of these germplasms in breeding programs.

‘Hyowon 3’, a medium-maturing glutinous rice variety was developed by the rice breeding team of Pusan National University in 2013. This cultivar was developed from a cross between ‘Hongna’ which is a landrace from the Korean peninsula showing good glutinous properties, and ‘Junam’, which has stable productivity. During the F₃–F₈ generations, breeding lines were selected using a pedigree breeding method. As a result, the promising line (JS24-6-95-11-5-2-1-1-1-B) with good glutinous properties was advanced and designated as ‘SP 107’. This variety headed on Aug. 16, which is 3 days later than ‘Dongjinchal’ in the middle plane. The average culm length and panicle length of this variety were 80.7 cm and 20.1 cm, respectively. This variety yielded approximately 14.1 tillers per hill and 104 spikelets per panicle. The ratio of ripened grain was about 93.0%, and the 1,000-grain weight was 19.30 g in brown rice. The yield performance was 492 kg/10a in a local adaptability test.

‘Hyowon 4’, a new medium maturing glutinous rice variety was developed by the rice breeding team of Pusan National University in 2013. This cultivar was derived from a cross between ‘Boseokchal’ and ‘Donna’ with good glutinous property. During F3~F8 generation, breeding lines were selected by a pedigree breeding method. As a result, the promising line (JS23-4-39-14-5-1-1-1) with good glutinous property was advanced and designated as the name of ‘SP 106’ in 2012. This variety headed on Aug. 15, which is 2 days later than ‘Dongjinchal’ in middle plane. The culm length and panicle length of this variety was 82.4 cm and 21.1 cm, respectively. This variety has about 13.9 tillers per a hill and 100 spikelets per a panicle. The ratio of ripened grain is about 92.0% and 1000-grain weight was 20.9 g in brown rice. The yield performance was 5.03 MT/ha in local adaptability test.

'Hyowon 2’, a new medium-late maturing glutinous rice variety with short clum and lodging tolerance was developed by the rice breeding team of Pusan National University in 2013. This cultivar was derived from a cross between 'Junam’ as a short clum source and ‘Donna’ with a good glutinous properties. During selected by the pedigree breeding method, until F8 generation. As a result, a promising line, JS22-3-24-1-6-2-1-1-1, was advanced and designated as the name of ‘SP 105’ in 2012. This variety headed on Aug. 22 is 9 days later than ‘Dongjinchal’ in middle plane. The Culm length and panicle length of this variety was 65.6 cm and 22.5 cm, respectively. This variety has about 14.4 tillers per hill and 113 spikelet numbers per panicle. The ratio of ripened grain is about 93.0% and 1000-grain weight was 18.4 g in brown rice. This variety has higher α-tocotrienol content compared to that of ‘Hwasunchal’. The yield performance of brown rice was 4.81 MT/ha in local adaptability test.

This study is to raise the utilization of genetic resources of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) landrace from East Asia (Korea, Japan, and China) by evaluating genetic variation related to end use quality concerned to bread making quality and early maturity, two very important characteristics of Korean wheat cropping system. To clarify the allelic variation of Glu-1 loci which decides HMW glutenin subunit composition, SDS-PAGE and DNA marker analysis were conducted by using 485 East Asian landrace wheat accessions in National Agrobiodiversity Center, RDA and NIAS genebank. And useful accessions getting full mark of glu-1 score and early maturity were selected to enhance the utilization of genetic resources to Korean wheat breeding.

In this study, wheats from China showed the distinct characteristic. Whereas Glu-A1c (null) and Glu-B1b (7+8) allele are the most frequent in Korean and Japanese accessions, Glu-A1a (2^*) and Glu-B1c (7^*+9) are the most in Chinese accessions. When it comes to unique composition, Glu-B1f (13+16) and Glu-D1e (2+10) subunits are only in Chinese resources. Glu-B1d (6+8), Glu-B1e (20), Glu-D1b (7+8), and Glu-D1c (4+1) subunits are only in Korean resources. The accessions from China also has high PIC value (0.53) compared to ones from Korea (0.35) and Japan (0.35). Grouping by UPGMA analysis of combination of Glu-1 allele, most accessions from Korea and Japan are in the same group, but most Chinese ones were distinguished as the distinctive group. The evaluation of bread baking quality by Glu-1 scoring system, 26 accessions got full marks. Among them, 16 accessions from China were also matured before early June, suitable to Korean cropping system. Especially, 3 accessions (K151847, K151865, K151962) had very early maturity, matured in late May. These genetic resources, having good gluten composition and early maturity, are expected to widely be used for Korean wheat breeding.