Developing a unique local variety that adapts well to the regional environment and consistently expresses its own characteristics provides a significant competitive advantage in the branded rice market. The aim of this study was to develop a Mid-Late Maturing Rice Cultivar with High Grain Quality adapted to the Chungnam Plain. ‘Daebang’ was developed by crossing ‘Haedamssal,’ a stable and high-yielding cultivar, with ‘Jinsumi,’ known for excellent grain appearance and eating quality, during the winter of 2013-2014. The F₁ was grown in summer 2014 to produce F₂ seeds, and promising lines were selected via the pedigree method. Under normal transplanting, ‘Daebang’ headed on August 19, about four days later than ‘Samkwang. ’ It had a culm length of 75 cm (9 cm shorter than ‘Samkwang’), indicating better lodging resistance. It had 84 spikelets per panicle, a 1,000-grain weight of 21.9 g, and a milled rice yield of 6.06 MT ha^-1, which was numerically higher but not significantly different from that of ‘Samkwang.’ The head rice ratio was 95.9%, with a protein content of 5.4%, and glossiness value 78.5, indicating a superior grain quality. ‘Daebang’ also showed similar resistance to blast and bacterial leaf blight as ‘Samkwang.’ Therefore, ‘Daebang’ is expected to serve as a promising mid-late maturing cultivar for producing premium-branded rice in the Chungnam region because of its high grain quality, lodging tolerance, and stable yield (Registration No. 9169).

Tofu, a widely consumed soy-based product, has seen increasing consumer demand, driven by health and dietary trends. Enhancing the processing suitability of soybeans requires analysis of the genetics associated with tofu quality traits. In this study, five key traits, namely water absorption (WA%), Brix of soymilk (°BS), soymilk yield (YM%), tofu residue (TR%), and tofu yield (YT%), were evaluated in two recombinant inbred line (RIL) populations: 81 lines of “Daepung”דSaedanbaek” and 122 lines of “Daepung”דGalchae”. Most traits exhibited normal distributions and transgressive segregation. Trait correlations revealed strong associations between WA and TR, and between YM and YT, with population-specific variation. Quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping identified eight loci in each population linked to WA, °BS, YM, TR, and YT across multiple chromosomes. Notably, co-localized QTL were detected for WA% and TR% (chromosomes 1 and 6) and for WA%, YM%, °Brix, and TR% (chromosome 8), indicating pleiotropic regulation. Candidate genes included Glyma.06g173500, associated with β-glucan biosynthesis, and Glyma.03g132700, encoding β-glucanase, both implicated in seed coat permeability and tofu yield. These results provide novel genetic insights into seed coat properties and processing quality, and the identified QTLs and candidate genes represent valuable targets for marker-assisted selection in soybean breeding programs optimized for tofu production in Korea.

To diversify the grain quality characteristics of Korean varieties of japonica rice (Oryza sativa japonica), recombinant inbred lines were developed from a cross between the Korean cultivar “Boramchan” and the tropical japonica cultivar “Pecos” from the United States. Quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis was performed to investigate the traits related to grain quality. Sixteen traits were evaluated, including five related to grain appearance, six associated with pasting properties and glossiness of cooked rice, and four related to eating texture. QTLs were detected on chromosomes 3, 5, 6, and 10, and candidate genes, including Hd1, qLTG3-1, GW5, and qGS10 were identified. The heading date-related gene Hd1 was associated with the following traits: head rice (HR), opaque rice (OR), damaged rice, pasting temperature, peak viscosity (PV), breakdown viscosity (BD), and glossiness. Most quality-related traits were influenced by allelic variation at Hd1, and the Hd1⁺ allele from “Boramchan”, which delays heading, positively affected both grain appearance and eating quality. The low-temperature germinability gene qLTG3-1 was identified as a candidate gene for broken rice and several pasting properties, including trough, final, and breakdown viscosities, and was shown to influence pasting characteristics depending on allelic variation. The grain shape gene GW5 was a candidate gene for HR and whiteness, whereas qGS10 was associated with OR, PV, BD, and setback viscosity. The GW5⁺ and qGS10^P alleles, derived from the slender grain shape of “Pecos,” contributed positively to both grain appearance and eating quality, indicating their potential as favorable alleles for improving grain shape and diversifying quality traits in Korean japonica rice. The results of this study demonstrate that key agronomic trait-related genes, such as heading and grain shape, significantly affect various quality-related traits, highlighting the potential of introducing and combining novel alleles to enhance grain quality in Korean japonica rice.

The decrease in seed vigor and grain quality during storage has become an increasingly critical issue due to the extended storage periods resulting from declining rice consumption and climate change in Korea. Despite its importance, few studies have investigated rice seed aging in a large number of Korean rice cultivars. In this study, 53 japonica rice cultivars were evaluated for seed germination, vigor, and grain quality-related traits under accelerated-aging conditions. Seed germination rate was evaluated 7 days after imbibition, following accelerated aging treatments at 42℃ and 95% relative humidity for 8, 12, and 16 days. The average germination rates were 72.9% in the control (0 d), 71.7% after 8 days, 59.0% after 12 days, and 5.6% after 16 days of treatment. Grain quality-related traits, including texture and pasting properties, were also evaluated in rice subjected to the accelerated aging treatment. Adhesiveness and stickiness decreased, whereas hardness and toughness increased, as seed aging progressed. Cluster analysis based on germination rates after accelerated aging identified three distinct clusters, with cultivars in Cluster 3 maintaining a high germination rate of 70.6% even after 12 days of aging, showing clear differences from the other clusters. A principal component analysis (PCA) was conducted to investigate the relationship between germination rate and grain quality-related traits. The results showed that the germination rate and hardness tended to be negatively associated across all three clusters. These results suggested that cultivars with higher germination rates tend to maintain a softer cooked rice texture after aging. Our results provide insight into the relationship between seed aging and grain quality, highlighting elite cultivars that maintain both germination ability and grain quality during storage as valuable resources for breeding programs.

The rice cultivar, ‘Dapum’, is a high-quality, late-maturing rice with low amylose content developed by the Chungcheongnam-do Agricultural Research and Extension Services (Yesan, Korea). Dapum was derived from a cross between Miho, a processed rice cultivar known for its cultivation stability and low amylose content, as the maternal parent, and Daohuaxing2, a high-quality aromatic rice cultivar, as the paternal parent. Subsequently, a pedigree breeding method was employed, and yield trials conducted from 2019-2020, followed by local adaptability tests from 2020-2021. As a result of the local adaptability test, the heading date of ‘Dapum’ was August 28^th, which is slower than the cultivars mainly cultivated in the Chungnam Province in Korea; therefore, it can be ripened at an appropriate temperature. The yield of milled ‘Dapum’ rice under standard fertilizer conditions was approximately 572 kg/10a, which was 15 kg/10a higher than that of Miho. The amylose content of ‘Dapum’ was 12.5%, similar to that of Miho, and the glossiness of cooked rice, which reflects its indirect eating quality, was 86.8, which was 7.0 points higher than that of Miho. The new rice cultivar, ‘Dapum’, is expected to be used in various ways, such as for cooked and processed rice, due to its low amylose content and good eating quality. Further, it has the potential to enhance the competitiveness of rice production in the Chungnam Province by diversifying the rice market, which has traditionally focused on mid-maturing, non-glutinous rice (Registration No. 10181).

‘Chamdongjin’ is a rice cultivar with a distinctively large grain size and good palatability, similar to ‘Sindongjin,’ which is a mega-cultivar in Korea. ‘Younghojinmi’ is a rice cultivar known for having the highest taste value among premium quality cultivars. In this study, we conducted quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis of quality-related traits using recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from a cross between ‘Chamdongjin’ and ‘Younghojinmi’ to elucidate their genetic interactions. We analyzed 20 traits, including protein content, amylose content, glossiness of cooked rice, 7 traits related to grain appearance, 6 traits related to pasting properties, and 4 traits related to texture. Quality-related QTL were primarily detected on chromosome 3. In particular, GS3, one of the candidate genes for QTL, significantly influenced quality by affecting 14 different traits, including appearance traits such as head rice and the texture of cooked rice. Furthermore, RILs with the gs3 allele, which exhibited the large grains of ‘Chamdongjin,’ showed a lower protein content and higher amylose content than RILs with the GS3 allele. These lines also had lower head rice percentages and higher percentages of whiteness, opacity, and broken rice, indicating an inferior appearance quality. In terms of pasting properties, RILs with the gs3 allele showed a lower pasting temperature, peak viscosity, and breakdown, but a higher setback than RILs with the GS3 allele. Although the gs3 allele did not affect the glossiness, hardness, or toughness of the cooked rice, it resulted in higher adhesiveness and stickiness. Allelic alteration of the preharvest sprouting gene qLTG3-1 was found to affect seven quality-related traits, including pasting properties. Genes related to heading date (Hd18), culm length (SD1), and tiller number (OsTB1) were also associated with quality-related QTL. Alterations in the alleles of these genes caused variations in quality-related traits. Our identification of the association between quality-related traits and key agronomic genes is expected to support the effective development of rice cultivars with improved quality.

A new persimmon (Diospyros kaki L. Thunb.) cultivar ‘Yeonsu’ was derived from a cross between ‘Ro-19’ and ‘Taishu’ in 2009 and finally selected in 2016. The average maturing date was October 20th in Yeoung-am province. ‘Yeonsu’ has a medium average fruit size (235 g) and high soluble solids (17.0 °Bx). The flesh taste was good with soft texture and juice. The fruit shape was very wide ovule when viewed from the side and the fruit's skin color was yellow-orange. Physiological disorders, including fruit cracking or skin fine cracking rarely occurred, but intense sunlight may cause pericarp blackening (Registration No. 8918).

‘Saebonghwang’ was developed as a mid-late ripening rice variety with good cultivation stability and yield in transplanting and under direct seeding cultivation. It was bred by backcrossing ‘Hopum’, which has excellent cultivation stability and adaptability to direct seeding, as a repeat parent, and ‘Hitomebore,’ a Japanese rice variety with excellent taste, as a donor. The heading date of ‘Saebonghwang’ was August 11 under ordinary planting, which is two days earlier than that of ‘Nampyeong’, and August 13 under wet-direct seeding cultivation, which is the same as that of ‘Dongan’. ‘Saebonghwang’ had a culm length of 74 cm under wet-direct seeding cultivation, which is larger than that of ‘Dongan’ (69 cm), and had good cultivation stability, including lodging resistance. ‘Saebonghwang’ is resistant to bacterial leaf blight and rice stripe virus and shows moderate resistance to rice blast. Furthermore, ‘Saebonghwang’ has better grain appearance, superior taste and better milling characteristics than ‘Nampyeong’. The yield of ‘Saebonghwang’ when cultivated under ordinary planting, wet-direct seeding, and double cropping was 5.65, 5.37, and 5.37 MT/ha, respectively. Under wet direct sowing by drone cultivation, ‘Saebonghwang’ showed good initial survival rate and cultivation stability. The yield was 4.49 MT/ha, slightly lower than that obtained under transplanted cultivation (5.03 MT/ha), but was not statistically different; therefore, ‘Saebonghwang’ was adjudged to be adaptable to drone wet-direct seeding. ‘Saebonghwang’ can be used in various ways to suit the working conditions of farms, increase farm work efficiency, and expand the area of wet direct-seeding cultivation (Registration No. 9171).

The global seed distribution market is rapidly transforming into a high-value-added seed market, with the production and distribution of processed seeds expanding, led by multinational seed companies. However, domestic seed companies still lack investment in seed processing, and the level of technology for processing distributed seeds is relatively low. The proportion of seeds processed and produced by seed companies must be increased to transform the domestic seed industry into an internationally competitive export industry. According to the results of a survey of 2,679 domestic companies by the National Seed and Variety Service (2021), the main business field of seed companies is seed production (1,192 companies), followed by seed sales (1,041 companies), nurseries (328 companies), and seed processing (35 companies). In conclusion, few companies conduct business in the field of seed processing. Accordingly, the government plans to build seed-processing facilities for joint utilization by seed companies to expand the supply of high-quality seeds from domestic seed companies. To this end, we investigated the seed- processing status of major seed companies and conducted a demand survey for facilities and equipment in the seed-processing field. Details and operational plans for the establishment of a tentatively named ‘Seed Enterprise Joint Utilization Seed Processing Center,’ based on domestic companies' processing status and demands, are presented in this paper.

To promote the expansion of rice consumption, we examined the nutritional components and qualities of five Tongil-type rice varieties. Regarding texture properties, ‘Dasan’ showed the highest viscosity at 0.43 kgf, whereas ‘Hanareum3’ displayed the lowest at 0.20 kgf. Regarding pasting properties, ‘Hanareum4’ exhibited the slowest aging speed of rice flour dough with a value of -42.34 RVU, and ‘Hanareum3’ had the slowest aging speed of cooked rice with a final viscosity of 258.62 RVU. Regarding proximate compositions, ‘Hanareum3’ had the highest crude ash content at 1.17 g/100 g, and ‘Hanareum2’ had the highest crude protein content at 8.39 g/100 g. Regarding amino acids, at 0.17–0.18%, ‘Dasan’ had a methionine content 0.13% lower than the other varieties. Regarding mineral contents, potassium, phosphorus, and magnesium contents were the highest in ‘Hanareum3’ at 263.08, 354.85, and 109.18 mg/100 g, respectively. ‘Dasan’ showed the highest contents of iron, manganese, and zinc, measured at 0.94, 2.17, and 1.43 mg/100 g, respectively. Of the 36 fatty acids measured, only 9 were confirmed. Myristic acid, linoleic acid, and alpha-linolenic acid were highest in ‘Hanareum3’ at 0.27, 9.91, and 0.48 mg/g, respectively. ‘Hanareum4’ had the highest levels of palmitic, stearic, and oleic acids, with contents of 6.69, 0.79, and 9.64 mg/g, respectively. Arachidic, eicosenoic, and lignoceric acids were detected at high levels in ‘Geumgang1,’ ‘Hanareum2,’ and ‘Dasan,’ with contents of 0.16, 0.13, and 0.3 mg/g, respectively.

The use of digital cameras in plant phenotyping studies using RGB sensors has increased. However, the need for standardization has become apparent because of the diverse analytical approaches used by individual researchers. In this study, we optimized the image acquisition conditions for apples, including scaling tool positioning, lighting conditions, and background color selection. In addition, we developed an ImageJ-based automated image acquisition and analysis program. We generated 240 images of four apple cultivars (Hongan, Hongro, Fuji, and Hwangok) and used 12 image indices to analyze the fruit size, width, length, and shape. We measured the accuracy by comparing the results with actual measurements. Significantly high correlation values were observed between fruit width and the major index (R²=0.947-0.993) as well as between fruit length and the height index (R²=0.964-0.984) based on the analysis using R-squared values to assess accuracy. These findings are expected to enhance the efficiency of apple fruit sorting in the future and can be applied to investigate the shapes of other fruits.

‘Haedeul’ is a high-quality rice variety with early maturing that adapts to the central region of Korea. This cultivar was crossed between ‘Gopum’, which has excellent taste, and ‘Hoban’, which has a low viviparous germination rate and is moderately tolerant of cold, by the rice breeding team of the Department of Central Area Crop Science, NlCS, RDA, in 2017. In early-transplanting cultivation, the heading date of ‘Haedeul’ was July 24 in central area of Korea, which was seven days later than that of ‘Jopyeong’. ‘Haedeul’ had a culm length of 75 cm and 99 spikelets per panicle. The viviparous germination rate of ‘Haedeul’ was 7.7%. It showed resistance to blast and bacterial blight (K1, K2, K3 race), but was susceptible to the K3a race of bacterial blight, stripe virus, dwarf and black streak dwarf viruses, and plant-hoppers. The milled rice of this variety exhibited a translucent and medium short grain shape. The cooked rice grains of ‘Haedeul’ had an excellent palatability index (0.61) and lower amylose content (18.0%) than that of ‘Jopyeong’. The grain milling characteristics were better than those of ‘Jopyeong’, especially the head rice milling recovery ratio and head rice ratio (94.9%). ‘Haedeul’ milled rice productivity averaged 5.32 MT/ha at five sites under ordinary cultivation (Registration No. 7681).

Rice is an important food crop that feeds most of the world's population. However, due to the increased frequency of pest outbreaks, it is necessary to cultivate complex pest-resistant rice cultivars. A mutant population was derived by culturing tissue of ‘Hwayeong’ at the Plant Molecular Breeding laboratory of Kyungpook National University in the Republic of Korea. The cultivar ‘Drimi4ho’, a line that was resistant to complex disease, was finally selected by backcrossing with ‘Junam’. The heading date of ‘Drimi4ho’ is August 11 (107 days after sowing). Drimi4ho’ has culm length of 69 cm, panicle length of 21 cm, 16 panicles per hill, 115 spikelets per panicle, a ratio of ripened grain of 92.7%, and a 1,000-grain weight of 24.3 g. No lodging occurred when ‘Drimi4ho’ was grown in the field by standard fertilization. It is also resistant to leaf/neck blast disease, bacterial blight (K₁, K₂, K₃), rice dwarf virus, rice black-streaked dwarf virus, rice stripe virus, BPH, and SBPH. ‘Drimi4ho’ is a round and short-type grain, and is very clear and transparent without chalkiness. In addition, it has excellent physicochemical properties that make up food, so its taste is good. When ‘Drimi4ho’ was planted under ordinary conditions in the southern mountainous area of Korea, the yield was 5.53 MT/ha (Registration No. 6124).

Rice is a staple food in most countries, and thus, diversifying its value is necessary. Recently, the focus on good health has increased, and rice cultivars with improved properties should be bred based on consumer demands. At the Plant Molecular Breeding Laboratory of Kyungpook National University, “Hwayeong” was tissue-cultured to derive mutant populations. In the mutant lines, “P35” with high protein content and excellent agricultural traits, was backcrossed with “Ilmi” three times, and the final selected line was called “Drimi5ho.” The heading date of “Drimi5ho” was August 11 (107 d after sowing), which was 5 d later than that of “Ilmi” (August 5, 101 d after sowing). The culm length of “Drimi5ho” was 71 cm, the panicle length was 18 cm, the number of panicles per hill was 13, the number of spikelets per panicle was 113, the ratio of ripened grain was 90.5%, and the 1,000-grain weight was 22.6 g. When "Drimi5ho" was planted ordinary plantation, the yield in the southern mountainous area was 526 kg/10a. Lodging was not observed when “Drimi5ho” was grown in the field with standard fertilization (N-P₂O₅-K₂O = 9-4.5-5.7 kg/10a). This rice cultivar was resistant to leaf/neck blast, bacterial blight (K₁, K₂, and K₃), rice stripe virus, rice black-streaked dwarf virus, and rice dwarf virus. The milled grain of “Drimi5ho” was clear and transparent without any chalkiness; moreover, the grain shape was round and short. Although it is a specialty rice with increased protein content, the taste of the rice and the grain quality were excellent (Registration No. 6829).

Rice is one of the most important food crops in the world, but brown planthopper (BPH, Nilaparvata lugens stal) causes a significant loss of rice yield. Due to climate change, different races of rice-damaging species are evolving at an accelerated pace, thus, creating a need to breed multi-resistant rice cultivars for a stable food supply. In 2001, “Samgang” and “Nagdong” were crossed at the Plant Molecular Breeding Laboratory of the Department of Applied Biosciences, Graduate School, Kyungpook National University, Daegu Korea. “Drimi3ho” is a resistant and high-quality rice cultivar that was bred by backcrossing a line having excellent agronomic traits with “Ilmi.” The heading date of “Drimi3ho” was August 12 (104 d after sowing), and it was a medium-maturing cultivar that matured 3 d earlier than “Ilmi” (August 15, 107 d after sowing). Its culm length was 81 cm, panicle length was 18 cm, panicle number per hill was 16, spikelet number per panicle was 113, ripened grain ratio was 93.2%, and 1,000-grain weight was 24.3 g. “Drimi3ho” was highly resistant to blast disease and bacterial blight (K₁, K₂, and K₃), rice stripe virus, rice dwarf virus, rice black-streaked dwarf virus, and BPH. When “Drimi3ho” was milled, the milled grain was clear and transparent; moreover, the grains were semi-round and short-type. Moreover, “Drimi3ho” had lower protein and amylose content and tasted better than “Ilmi.” When “Drimi3ho” was grown on an ordinary plantation in the southern mountainous area, the yield was 563 kg/10a (Registration No. 5621).

This study was performed to determine the optimum transplanting dates of ‘Bbareumi’ in the Chungnam Plain area. ‘Bbareumi’ was transplanted into a rice research field of Chungnam Agricultural Research and Extension Services at intervals of approximately 15 days from April 17^th to August 1^st in 2019 and 2020. The heading dates of ‘Bbareumi’ were June 23^rd to September 2^nd depending on transplanting dates. The highest milled-rice yield was 5.61 MT/ha on May 1^st and the lowest was 3.65 MT/ha on August 1^st. As the transplanting date was delayed, protein content increased; however, the number of days from transplanting to heading decreased. Protein content and the number of days from transplanting to heading showed a highly significant correlation (R² = 0.802^**). Therefore, it was found that early transplanting was beneficial to produce lower protein content because head rice percentage was 84-87% for early (April 17^th to May 16^th), 74-80% normal (June 1^st to June 16^th), and 86-95% for the late transplanting date (July 1^st to August 1^st). The mean temperature during the ripening stage differed according to the transplanting dates, and early transplanting showed a lower temperature than the normal one (May 16^th to June 15^th) and a higher head rice percentage. Therefore, extremely early maturing rice cultivars should be transplanted between late April and early May to obtain lower protein content and higher head rice percentage. These results will be useful for rice breeding programs, as it is generally recognized that early transplanting results in poor rice quality; however, this study revealed contrasting results.

Rice is an important crop used as a staple food in most of the world; however the occurrence of pests is increasing due to climate change. In particular, the brown planthopper (BPH, Nilaparvata lugens stal) is a key cause of rice yield loss. In response to the era of unpredictable climate change in the future, the Plant Molecular Breeding laboratory of the Department of Applied Biosciences, Graduate School, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41566, Korea bred the ‘Drimi2ho’ strain, which is resistance to BPH or various pests and of excellent eating quality. In order to cultivate ‘Drimi2ho’, ‘Samgang’ and ‘Nagdong’ were crossed and the derived seeds were backcrossed with ‘Junam’, and the pedigree breeding method was applied. During the application of the pedigree method, agricultural characteristics which are investigated in the field were found to be excellent, and the best line for various disease resistance, grain quality, and yield was finally selected as ‘Drimi2ho’. ‘Drimi2ho’ has strong resistance to BPH and its range of resistance to major pests and viral diseases such as blast and bacterial blight on rice is quite wide. In the field, the main agricultural characteristics of ‘Drimi2ho’ were similar to or improved from those of ‘Junam’. ‘Drimi2ho’ is a cultivar with enhanced disease and pest resistance and a wide spectrum while maintaining the good eating quality. ‘Drimi2ho’ yielded 584 kg/10a in ordinary cultivation under normal level of fertilization in south mid-mountainous areas of Korea. Drimi2ho’ can thus be a standard cultivar in Korea due to its varied resistance to multiple diseases and excellent grain quality. (Registration No. 4686).

In 2005, a new persimmon (Diospyros kaki L. Thunb.) cultivar ‘Wonchu’ was derived by crossing ‘Shinsyu’ and ‘Taishu’, and it was finally selected in 2015. In the Yeoung-am province, the average maturing date of the fruit of this cultivar was October 3^rd. The quantitative characteristics of the fruit of ‘Wonchu’ include a larger size (324 g on average) and presence of high soluble-solids (approximately 15.1 °Brix). The flesh of the fruit is juicy, has a crispy texture, and tastes good. The shape of the fruit is round oblate (when looked from the side), and the color of its skin is orange. Physiological disorders, such as fruit cracking or fine skin cracking, rarely occur (Registration No. 8579).

‘Golden queen 3’, an aromatic rice variety, was developed by Seedpia inc. (Suwon, Korea) breeding company in 2014. This cultivar was derived from a cross between ‘HJ-11’, a high-yield, aromatic line, and ‘JCH33M-15-1-9-1’, which has a low amylose content. During the F₃-F₈ generation, breeding lines were selected using a pedigree breeding method. The most promising line (JS9-3-73-15-5-1-5-3-1-1) was advanced and named ‘SP005’ in 2013. This variety was headed on August 13, two days later than ‘Hwayeong’ in the ‘in middle plane’ is commonly used to distinguish rice cultivation areas in Korea, so I think it's no problem to the understanding for readers (including farmers). The culm and panicle lengths of this variety were 75.7 cm and 20.1 cm, respectively. It has approximately 14.7 tillers per hill and 104.8 spikelets per panicle, and the 1000-grain weight was 21.8 g. The yield performance was 5.47 MT/ha in the local adaptability test, and the amylose content of this variety was 12.5%. 2-Acetyl-1-pyrroline was detected as the major volatile ingredient in aromatic rice, and a 1 bp insertion on the 14th exon (badh2.7 allele) was identified in the Badh2 gene. (Registration No. 7308).

‘Jungdream’ is an early maturing, high-quality rice cultivar developed in 2017 by the crop breeding team at Crop Research Division, GARES, Hwaseong, Korea. ‘Jungdream’ was first developed in 2008 from crossing a medium-late maturity cultivar ‘Chilbo’ and an early maturity cultivar ‘Ungwang’. The heading date of this cultivar is July 28^th in the Gyeonggido Province. Its culm length is 63 cm, and it has 19 panicles per hill and 82 spikelets per panicle. It is a medium-small grain brown rice cultivar with a 1000-grain weight of 20.6 g. Its cold tolerance is lower than that of ‘Hwaseong’, which is the standard cultivar in the central region, as is its degree of lodging tolerance. ‘Jungdream’ is resistant to rice blast and stripe virus diseases but is susceptible to bacterial leaf blight and other viral diseases and pests. The appearance of milled ‘Jungdream’ rice is clear, and its amylose content is 16.5%, which is lower than that of ‘Hwaseong’. The palatability of cooked ‘Jungdream’ rice is better than that of ‘Chucheong’, which is the main cultivated crop in Gyeonggido. Its milling ratio is 75.0%, which is lower than that of ‘Hwaseong’. The yield of milled ‘Jungdream’ rice was 5.42 MT/ha in the local adaptability tests during standard cultivation in four regions from 2015 to 2017. ‘Jungdream’ is highly adaptable to the environmental conditions in the Gyeonggido Province (Registration No. 8236).

‘Alchanmi’, a japonica rice variety, was developed from a cross between ‘Junam’ and ‘Chilbo’ by a rice breeding team at the National Institute of Crop Science and Icheon, Agricultural Technology Center in 2018. The heading date of ‘Alchanmi’ was August 10 in the middle plain area—two days later than that of ‘Hwaseong’. ‘Alchanmi’ had a culm length of 69 cm, 16 cm shorter than that of ‘Hwaseong’, and 103 spikelets per panicle. The viviparous germination rate of ‘Alchanmi’ was 24.4%. It showed resistance to blast, bacterial blight (K1, K2, K3 race), and stripe virus, but was susceptible to the K3a race of bacterial blight, dwarf and black streak dwarf viruses, and plant hoppers. The milled rice of this variety exhibited a translucent and medium short grain shape. The cooked rice grains of ‘Alchanmi’ had an excellent palatability index (0.7) and showed lower amylose content (18.6%) than that of ‘Hwaseong’. The grain milling characteristics of ‘Alchanmi’ were better than those of ‘Hwaseong’, especially the head rice milling recovery ratio and head rice ratio (96.2%). ‘Alchanmi’ showed 5.83 MT/ha of milled rice productivity at 6 sites under ordinary cultivation (Registration No. 8132).

The rice variety ‘Youngjin’ is a japonica rice (Oryza sativa L.) with good eating quality, lodging tolerance, and resistance to the rice stripe virus (RSV) and bacterial blight disease (BB). It was developed by the rice breeding team of the Department of Southern Crop, NICS, RDA, in 2016. This variety was derived from a three-way cross between ‘Iksan486’, ‘YR22722-B-B-B-25-1’, and ‘Chengmu,’ with good eating quality, in the summer of 2007. The pedigree of ‘Youngjin’ was YR27874Acp46-1, and was designated as ‘Miyang283’ in 2012. After local adaptability tests at five different locations from 2014 to 2016, it was released under the name ‘Youngjin’ in 2016. ‘Youngjin’ is a mid-late maturing ecotype with a short culm length of 67 cm. This variety was found to be resistant to the K1, K2, and K3 races of BB, and RSV, and moderately resistant to leaf blast disease. The milled rice kernels of ‘Youngjin’ were translucent and clear, without white core and belly, and had good eating quality, according to a panel test. This variety showed a lower percentage of cracked kernels compared to other susceptible cultivars. The milled rice yield of ‘Youngjin’ was 568 kg/10a, under normal levels of fertilization, determined by the local adaptability tests. This cultivar is adaptable to the Yeongnam plain area (Registration No. 7653).

Early maturing rice is widely utilized to diversify cropping systems in the Honam Plain, Korea. It is based on the principle of a short growth duration. There is concern regarding quality deterioration of early maturing rice owing to the high temperature during the ripening stage as compared to that for mid and mid-late maturing rice. This study was conducted to analyze six pasting property-related and eight quality traits of six early maturing rice varieties (Jopyeong, Odae, Unkwang, Haedamssal, Jinkwang, and Haedeul) on early, ordinary, and late cultivations, and to interpret the relationships between genotypes and environments. As the cultivation time increased, the ratio of head rice (HR) and glossiness of cooked rice (Toyo value, TY) increased. The cumulative mean temperature of the ripening stage showed a strong negative correlation with HR and TY at all cultivation times. Pasting temperature, peak viscosity (PV), trough viscosity, final viscosity, and breakdown (BD) decreased, whereas setback (SB) increased as the cultivation time was delayed. Pasting properties were affected more by climate conditions in the ripening stage than during the growth stage. Additive main effects and multiplicative interaction analysis revealed that pasting property-related and quality traits were affected more by environment than genotype. Jinkwang and Haedamssal in early and ordinary cultivation and Jinkwang and Haedeul in late cultivation exhibited higher HR and TY and a lower protein content. They also showed higher PV and BD and lower SB, which are characteristics of good eating quality japonica rice. Jinkwang, Haedamssal, and Haedeul are premium-quality, early maturing rice varieties that were recently developed. The cultivation of these varieties could improve the grain quality of early maturing rice at high temperatures during the ripening stage in the Honam Plain.

A new persimmon (Diospyros kaki L. Thunb.) cultivar, ‘Gampung’, a progeny derived from the cross between ‘Daeandangam’ and ‘Taishu’ in 2004, was finally selected in 2013. Fruits of ‘Gampung’ were available for harvest on October 24 in the Yeong-am area. It had a very large fruit size of 413 g on average, and high soluble solids of approximately 14.7 °Bx. Its flesh taste was good, and it had a crispy texture and rich juice. The shape of the fruit was round oblate from the side view, and it had orange skin. Physiological disorders such as fruit cracking or skin fine cracking rarely occurred in this cultivar (Registration No. 8030).

‘Sangbo’ is a japonica rice (Oryza sativa L.) variety with high head rice grain ratio and good ripened grain color, as well as resistance to rice dwarf virus (RDV) and bacterial blight disease (BB). It was developed by the rice breeding team of the Yeongdeok Branch of the National Institute of Crop Science, RDA, Korea, in 2015. This variety was derived in the 2002 summer season from a cross between ‘Yeongdeog32’, with high eating quality, and ‘Nampyeong’, with a high milling ratio. In 2012, a promising line, YR24256-142-5-3-1-1-2, selected by the pedigree breeding method, was designated the name, ‘Yeongdeog59’. After performing a local adaptability test at nine locations from 2013 to 2015, ‘Yeongdeog59’ was released with the name ‘Sangbo’ in 2015. ‘Sangbo’ has a culm length of 77 cm and a medium-late growth duration. This variety was resistant to K1, K2, and K3 races of bacterial blight, along with the dwarf virus, and was moderately resistant to leaf blast disease. Based on the results of a panel test, ‘Sangbo’ has translucent and clear milled rice kernel without white core and belly rice, and good eating quality. The yield potential of ‘Sangbo’ in milled rice was approximately 6.21 MT/ha at the ordinary fertilizer level of the local adaptability test (LAT). This cultivar would be adaptable to the middle plain, south plain, Yeongnam plain, east coastal area, and south mid-mountainous areas of Korea (Registration No. 7284, 2018.06.25).

This study was performed to evaluate the characteristics of wheat flour and sourdough bread quality of five Korean bread wheat cultivars, hard red winter wheat (HRW), and T55 (a French commercial wheat flour). Among the cultivars assessed, the protein and gluten contents and SDS-sedimentation values of Joongmo2008 were the highest, Keumkang were similar to those of HRW, and those of the Baekkang, Jokyung, and Hwanggeum were similar to those of T55. Joongmo 2008 and Keumkang had glutenin contents similar to those of HRW and T55, whereas Baekkang and Hwanggeum had higher HMW-GS (high molecular weight-glutenin subunit) and lower LMW-GS (low molecular weight-glutenin subunit) contents than HRW and T55. The α+β gliadin contents of Jungmo2008 and Keumkang were higher than those of other varieties and similar to those of HRW, whereas the γ- and ω-gliadin contents of Baekkang and Hwanggeum were similar to those of T55. Mixolab analysis revealed that Joongmo2008 and Keumkang had water absorption and kneading characteristics similar to those of HRW, and that Baekkang, Hwanngeum, and Jokyung showed characteristics similar to those of T55. Campagne and baguettes prepared using Korean wheat flour were similar in appearance to those prepared using T55 or HRW, the bread volume of campagne bread was smaller than that of T55, and the volume of baguettes were similar to that of T55. Joongmo2008 showed a higher bread volume than other Korean wheat cultivars, which was similar to that of HRW. The quality of sourdough bread prepared from Korean wheat flour was similar to that made with commercial flour, although the bread prepared using Joongmo2008 was found to be superior to that prepared using the flour of other Korean wheat cultivars.

AbstractIn 2014, a new high-quality, pollination-constant, non-astringent persimmon (Diospyros kaki L. Thunb.) cultivar, ‘Wonmi’, a breeding of ‘Fuyu’ and ‘Taishu’ from 2005, was developed. ‘Wonmi’ fruit were harvested on October 8 in Yeongam, South Korea. The fruit are medium-sized (220 g on average), with a high amount of soluble solids (15.1 °Bx). The juicy flesh has a pleasant taste and crispy texture. The fruit shape is round oblate, and the skin color is orange with a graceful appearance. Physiological disorders, such as stylar-end or fine skin cracking, rarely occur in this cultivar (Registration No. 7724).

An advanced F₈ population was derived from a cross between the hard wheat cultivar “Keumkang” carrying Pinb-D1b and the soft wheat cultivar “Olgeuru” carrying Pinb-D1a. A breeding line named “Hetero”, which exhibited the heterozygous-like Pinb-D1a/Pinb-D1b genotype, was selected by sequence analysis and KASP (Kompetitive Allele Specific PCR) assay. Physicochemical and processing characteristics of flour were tested in the Hetero line and compared with the two parental cultivars for two years. Hetero display a Glu-1 composition similar to Keumkang and a Glu-3 composition intermediate between Keumkang and Olgeuru. Contrary to the expectation that Hetero carrying the Pinb-D1a/Pinb-D1b genotype would exhibit an intermediate phenotype between the two parents, its overall flour physicochemical characteristics were more similar to Keumkang than to Olgeuru. The flour yield of Hetero (71.6%) was lower than that of Keumkang (74.5%). However, the flour particle size (73.3 μm) and damaged starch content (4.6%) of Hetero were similar to those of Keumkang (71.9 μm and 4.5%). The protein content (16.5%) and sodium dodecyl sulfate-sedimentation volume (72.8 mL) of Hetero were higher than those of Keumkang (14.0% and 57.5 mL) and Olgeuru (11.4% and 45.5 mL). The mixograph water absorption (68.7%) and mixing tolerance (17.7 mm) values of Hetero were higher than those of Keumkang (65.6% and 15.9 mm) with the same mixing time of 3.9 min. The bread loaf volume of Hetero was lower than that of Keumkang (866.7 vs. 894.7 mL). The cooked noodles hardness of Hetero was higher than that of Keumkang (5.9 vs. 4.7 N).

The government-led system for seed production and distribution of major crops was developed by enforcement of the Major Crops Seed Law in 1962. The Korea Variety and Seed Service has played a key role in operating the system, in cooperation with breeding institutes under the Rural Development Administration and provincial Basic Seed Centers. In the case of rice, the most important crop in the country, the quality of certified seed has continuously improved from the simply cleaned seed in the 1960s to graded, disinfected, coated seed of the present. Its coverage of the total planted area increased from 14% in 1985 to 60% in 2015. Since its inception in 2010, the Foundation of Agricultural Technology Commercialization and Transfer has been involved in the production/distribution of certified seed of minor crops/varieties, which had not been properly cared for by the mainstream system previously mentioned. Vegetable seed has been produced and marketed by the private sector. In the latter half of 1950s, seed self-sufficiency was attained in major vegetables. Vegetable seed market became totally open by 1991, and since then Korean seed companies have explored overseas production sites to meet the needs of local and export markets. The acquisition of major local seed companies by multinational major companies in the late 1990s has led to opportunities for Korean vegetable seed firms to upgrade their operational plant production and quality assurance practices to global standards. The quality of vegetable seed offered by Korean companies today is at the top level in the world market. The small and ever-decreasing size of the local seed market has been and will be a serious factor limiting the seed business in Korea. It is necessary to develop technologies to overcome the meteorological disasters that are becoming more violent and more frequent due to climate change. Labor-saving technologies are in urgent need in the area of field production. Phytosanitary border control systems need to evolve to more science-based reasonable ones. Seed enhancement technology, such as biological treatment, is becoming an essential part of holistic farm solutions, where seed is not only a carrier of the genetic constitution of a plant variety, but also plays a complementary role in making up for limitations of varieties and/or cultural managements practices. It is necessary to be adaptive and incorporate new sciences and technologies such as artificial intelligence, new breeding technologies, and epigenetics, among others.

‘Yechan’ is a high grain quality mid-late maturing rice cultivar with lodging tolerance and multiple disease resistance. It was a derived from a cross between ‘Hopum’ and ‘Iksan537’ (cultivar name ‘Haepum’). ‘Hopum’ is a high grain quality mid-late maturing rice cultivar with strong lodging tolerance and ‘Haepum’ is a high grain quality medium maturing rice cultivar with multiple disease resistance. To shorten the breeding period, another culture method was applied to the F₁ plants. ‘Yechan’ was selected through the pedigree method, yield trials, and local adaptability tests, with a high selection pressure for grain quality, lodging, and disease resistance. The heading date of ‘Yechan’ was August 14, one day later than that of ‘Nampyeong’. ‘Yechan’ is a cultivar tolerant to lodging and it has short culms. It has multiple disease resistance against rice blast, rice stripe virus, and bacterial blight, including the K3a race, the most virulent race in Korea. The yield of ‘Yechan’ was similar to that of ‘Nampyeong’. ‘Yechan’ showed excellent grain appearance, superior taste when cooked, and enhanced milling performance; thus, we concluded that it could contribute to the improvement of Korean japonica rice cultivar quality. ‘Yechan’, a high grain quality mid-late maturing rice cultivar with lodging tolerance and multiple disease resistance, would be suitable for cultivation in the southern plain area in Korea and has been utilized in the breeding programs aimed at enhancing the grain quality and stability for the cultivation of Korean japonica rice (Registration No. 7647).