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The new soybean line was tested at the UT West Tennessee Research and Education Center in Jackson. Photo courtesy of USDA-ARS. Download this photo (1.29 MB)

(JACKSON, Tenn.) – The USDA Agricultural Research Service and the University of Tennessee Agricultural Experiment Station have announced the release of an important new soybean germplasm. The new genetic material has the potential to increase farmers' income by millions nationwide, but should be especially beneficial to producers in the Mid South.

Designated as JTN-5303, the new line is characterized by high seed yields and high levels of resistance to multiple races of soybean cyst nematode (SCN).

SCN is the most serious soybean pest in the United States. Dr. Prakash Arelli, a soybean breeder with the USDA-ARS Crop Genetics and Production Research Unit in Jackson says an SCN infestation can reduce a field's yield by as much as 30 percent.

"Current estimates say American farmers' earnings are reduced by soybean cyst nematodes by as much as $1.1 billion annually," Arelli said. He notes that aggressive nematode populations have been identified in the Mid South.

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Soybean cyst nematode cysts can be loose in the soil (above) or attached to a root (below). Photos courtesy of USDA-ARS.

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The new soybean line, which was jointly developed by the USDA-ARS and UT Agricultural Experiment Station, is also highly resistant to potentially devastating and expensive fungal diseases including stem canker and frogeye leaf spot. It is moderately resistant to sudden death syndrome and experiences lower degrees of disease severity due to charcoal rot.

JTN-5303 is a maturity group V soybean that is well adapted to production in the Mid South, which has more acreage planted with soybeans than any other row crop.

The scientists developed the new line by combining genes from different sources of SCN resistance. "We used classical breeding techniques to transfer SCN resistance genes into high-yielding soybeans," said Dr. Vince Pantalone, lead researcher with the UT Soybean Breeding and Genetics Program and an associate professor in the UT Department of Plant Sciences. Pantalone, Arelli, Fred Allen, a UT professor of plant sciences, and Alemu Mengistu, with the USDA-ARS in Jackson, collaborated to develop the new germplasm.

JTN-5303 seeds will be used by breeders in developing and commercializing new cultivars. They will be maintained by the USDA-ARS Crop Genetics and Production Research Unit in Jackson for five years. Small quantities of seed can be requested until supplies are exhausted.

The UT Soybean Breeding and Genetics Program is well recognized. Two of the varieties developed by the university are so productive and well-adapted to the Mid South, Southeast, and Mid Atlantic that they were named check varieties for the USDA Southern Uniform Testing Program. The USDA program allows breeders to identify and release better performing varieties for the region.

The two check varieties developed by UT, 5601T and 5002T, replaced "Hutcheson" and "Manokin" in 2003 and 2004 respectively. Both Hutcheson and Manokin served as the USDA checks and have been household words in the soybean industry for the previous decade.

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Technical Contacts:

Dr. Prakash Arelli
USDA-ARS Crop Genetics and Production Research Unit
Jackson, TN
(731) 425-4741, parelli@msa-stoneville.ars.usda.gov

Dr. Vince Pantalone
The University of Tennessee Department of Plant Sciences
Knoxville, TN
(865) 974-8801, vpantalo@utk.edu

UTIA Media Coordinators:

Chuck Denney, (865) 974-7141, (865) 382-8058 or cmdenney@utk.edu
Patricia McDaniels, (865) 974-7141 or pclark@utk.edu