Crop SciencePub Date : 2026-05-28DOI: 10.1002/csc2.70304
G. C. Eizenga, Q. P.-H. Grunden, M. H. Jia, Y. Jia, A. K. Jackson
{"title":"Resistance to rice blast disease identified among progeny of a Presidio × Oryza rufipogon advanced backcross population","authors":"G. C. Eizenga, Q. P.-H. Grunden, M. H. Jia, Y. Jia, A. K. Jackson","doi":"10.1002/csc2.70304","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/csc2.70304","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The ancestral species of rice (<i>Oryza sativa</i> L.), collectively identified as the <i>Oryza rufipogon</i> species complex (<i>ORSC</i>), are a potential source of novel resistance (<i>R</i>) genes to control rice blast disease, a major fungal disease worldwide, caused by <i>Magnaporthe oryzae</i>. The objective of this study was to discover novel resistance genes (<i>R</i> genes) in the <i>ORSC</i> accessions and map the gene(s) to chromosome (chr.) position by quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping. Screening a collection of 94 <i>ORSC</i> accessions for blast disease reaction using three virulent US <i>M. oryzae</i> races and for DNA markers tagging five major <i>R</i> genes identified three potential <i>ORSC</i> donor parents. These accessions were crossed with Presidio, a US long grain cultivar and based on F<sub>1</sub> seed set, blast reaction, and known <i>R</i> gene(s), the Presidio × <i>O. rufipogon</i> (IRGC103404, International Rice Germplasm Collection) cross was selected to develop the advanced backcross mapping population of 244 BC<sub>2</sub>F<sub>3:5</sub> backcross inbred lines. QTL mapping of the reaction to six different US blast races identified three QTLs for blast resistance from the wild <i>O. rufipogon</i> donor, <i>qBLAST10</i> on chr. 10 at 11.92–12.15 Mb, <i>qBLAST11-1</i> on chr. 11 at 17.29–18.29 Mb, and <i>qBLAST11-2</i> on chr. 11 at 26.30–27.82 Mb. The QTL <i>qBLAST10</i> and <i>qBLAST11-2</i> were resistant to <i>M. oryzae</i> races IB54 and IB45, respectively, whereas <i>qBLAST11-1</i> was resistant to three races, IB54 and two of the most virulent races, IA1 and IB33. No major <i>R</i> genes mapped to this position; thus, <i>qBLAST11-1</i> possibly reveals a novel <i>R</i> gene discovered in the wild progenitor.</p>","PeriodicalId":10849,"journal":{"name":"Crop Science","volume":"66 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148282644","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Crop SciencePub Date : 2026-05-28DOI: 10.1002/csc2.70312
Sheila Scheffel, Frederic L. Kolb, Steven R. Scofield, Jason Fiedler, Jessica E. Rutkoski, Juan D. Arbelaez
{"title":"An in-depth historical phenotypic and genetic assessment of oat (Avena sativa L.) breeding at the University of Illinois","authors":"Sheila Scheffel, Frederic L. Kolb, Steven R. Scofield, Jason Fiedler, Jessica E. Rutkoski, Juan D. Arbelaez","doi":"10.1002/csc2.70312","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/csc2.70312","url":null,"abstract":"<p>It is essential to evaluate the effectiveness of breeding programs to ensure they continue to deliver value to stakeholders, including farmers, millers, and consumers. We evaluated the performance of the University of Illinois Oat Breeding Program (UIOBP) by quantifying realized genetic trends for key agronomic, grain quality, and disease resistance traits. Additionally, we assessed the effect of heat stress and genetic diversity to inform future breeding decisions. Our analysis integrated genotypic, pedigree, historical weather, and phenotypic data collected over an 18-year period from 2002 to 2019. Genetic trends were estimated using mixed models and the control population method. We quantified genetic correlations, rates of genetic gain, and the effects of temperature on yield and test weight, and assessed genetic diversity using molecular marker data, pedigree reconstruction, and population structure. Significant genetic trends were observed for yield (35.8 kg ha<sup>−</sup><sup>1</sup> year<sup>−</sup><sup>1</sup>), test weight (0.63 g L<sup>−</sup><sup>1</sup> year<sup>−</sup><sup>1</sup>), heading date (−0.01 days year<sup>−1</sup>), and plant height (−0.07 cm year<sup>−</sup><sup>1</sup>), while barley yellow dwarf virus, groat content, and thins (%) showed no significant change. Genetic diversity analyses revealed weak population structure and slightly reduced effective population size in recent parental lines. Phenotypic analyses showed that high temperatures during critical reproductive periods reduced yield and test weight. The UIOBP has maintained genetic diversity while achieving favorable selection response in yield, test weight, heading time, and plant height; however, limited progress in milling traits highlights areas for improvement. These findings demonstrate the continued value of public oat breeding while informing future breeding efforts.</p>","PeriodicalId":10849,"journal":{"name":"Crop Science","volume":"66 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/csc2.70312","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148282642","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Crop SciencePub Date : 2026-05-20DOI: 10.1002/csc2.70307
Chengjun Wu, Rafael Goncalves Marmo, Liliana Florez-Palacios, Andrea Acuña-Galindo, Derrick Harrison, Daniel Rogers, Andre Luis Tischler, Dongho Lee, Bo Zhang, Caio Canella Vieira
{"title":"Phenotypic and genotypic analyses of large-seeded soybean germplasm for vegetable soybean breeding","authors":"Chengjun Wu, Rafael Goncalves Marmo, Liliana Florez-Palacios, Andrea Acuña-Galindo, Derrick Harrison, Daniel Rogers, Andre Luis Tischler, Dongho Lee, Bo Zhang, Caio Canella Vieira","doi":"10.1002/csc2.70307","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/csc2.70307","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Vegetable soybean [<i>Glycine max</i> (L.) Merr.], commonly known as edamame, is harvested at the R6 growth stage as green pods and beans, offering a rich source of protein, oil, fiber, and essential nutrients. While US market demand for edamame has increased over the past two decades, there is a lack of available domestic products compared to those imported from East Asia, underscoring the need for improved cultivars regionally adapted to the United States. In this study, 223 large-seeded soybean accessions were evaluated in a field near Fayetteville, AR, in 2023 and 2024 for key traits related to edamame quality, including five appearance traits (R6 10-pod, R6 10-bean, and R8 10-seed weights; R6 pod/R6 bean and R6 bean/R8 seed weight ratios), two taste-related traits (sucrose and alanine contents), and four nutritional traits (protein, oil, fiber, and amino acid profiles). Based on these phenotypic traits and population structure, 30 elite accessions with superior and diverse trait combinations were identified as a core germplasm set to support edamame breeding for US production regions. Genome-wide association study detected 33 single-nucleotide polymorphisms significantly associated with appearance traits, while genomic prediction models demonstrated moderate to high accuracies, with BayesA and genomic best linear unbiased prediction consistently performing best across traits. These findings provide preliminary genetic and genomic resources to support the development of regionally adapted, high-quality edamame cultivars for the expanding US market.</p>","PeriodicalId":10849,"journal":{"name":"Crop Science","volume":"66 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/csc2.70307","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148282539","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Crop SciencePub Date : 2026-05-20DOI: 10.1002/csc2.70308
Andrea K. Clemensen, David W. Archer, Mark A. Liebig, Scott L. Kronberg, Sara E. Duke, Craig W. Whippo, Sema Oncel, Derek D. Bussan, Bryan Safratowich, Huawei Zeng
{"title":"Field pea minerals, protein, and fat affected by environment more than crop residue management","authors":"Andrea K. Clemensen, David W. Archer, Mark A. Liebig, Scott L. Kronberg, Sara E. Duke, Craig W. Whippo, Sema Oncel, Derek D. Bussan, Bryan Safratowich, Huawei Zeng","doi":"10.1002/csc2.70308","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/csc2.70308","url":null,"abstract":"Field peas ( <jats:italic>Pisum sativum</jats:italic> L.) are an important source of protein, fiber, and minerals for human consumption. As N‐fixing pulse crops, incorporating field peas into crop rotations can also enhance agricultural sustainability. Agricultural management influences soil, plant, and grain characteristics. However, the influence of agricultural management on field pea quality under semiarid conditions is poorly understood. A 12‐year biomass removal experiment in the Northern Great Plains allowed evaluation of how management influences food quality. Here, we assessed how biomass removal treatments in a 2‐year crop rotation of field pea and spring wheat ( <jats:italic>Triticum aestivum</jats:italic> L.) influenced field pea protein, fat, and minerals Ca, P, K, Zn, Mg, Fe, Cu, Mn, and Na. Treatments after grain harvest included no biomass removal (NR), removal of wheat straw (WH), removal of wheat and pea residue (WPH), and a grazed treatment where wheat and pea residue was grazed (WPG). Our results showed that differences in minerals and protein were more affected by annual weather variability than residue removal treatments from 2019 to 2021. With increasing drought severity, our experiment showed significant decreases in field pea yield ( <jats:italic>p</jats:italic> ≤ 0.01), yet pea grain had greater protein, P, K, Fe, Zn, and Cu ( <jats:italic>p</jats:italic> ≤ 0.01). While the yield of field peas was lower during severe drought, the nutritional quality of field peas increased. This may lead to higher premiums to producers for field peas during times of drought.","PeriodicalId":10849,"journal":{"name":"Crop Science","volume":"55 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148285879","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Crop SciencePub Date : 2026-05-20DOI: 10.1002/csc2.70300
Gabriel Comanescu, Luke Bell
{"title":"Spinosad‐based insecticide is an effective control method for the potato soil pests Agriotes sp. and Melolontha sp.","authors":"Gabriel Comanescu, Luke Bell","doi":"10.1002/csc2.70300","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/csc2.70300","url":null,"abstract":"Potato ( <jats:italic>Solanum tuberosum</jats:italic> L.) growers who would like to biologically control major soil pests of potato face an increasing challenge. Two pest species have a major impact on yield quality: white grubs ( <jats:italic>Melolontha</jats:italic> sp.; Eschscholtz, 1829) and wireworms ( <jats:italic>Agriotes</jats:italic> sp.; Fabricius, 1775). Farmers who want to grow potatoes in a sustainable fashion to reduce the quantity of chemical pesticides per hectare do not have many options. In this study, on‐farm trials were conducted with a Spinosad‐based granular insecticide in south‐eastern Central Europe, Romania, in Brasov County, where <jats:italic>Melolontha</jats:italic> sp. and <jats:italic>Agriotes</jats:italic> sp. pests occur and cause severe damage to potato tubers. The insecticidal active substance Spinosad, belonging to the chemical family of spinosyns, is a naturally occurring mixture of two components, spinosyn A and spinosyn D, produced by the soil actinomycete <jats:italic>Saccharopolyspora spinosa</jats:italic> . In order to understand, optimize, and improve organic farming methods, a comprehensive study of Spinosad‐based insecticides for controlling soil pests in potato was conducted across multiple locations and growing seasons. Spinosad treatment was consistently more effective than standard and untreated control groups in combating the two pests. The overall efficacy of Spinosad at 12 and 15 kg/ha resulted in 3.5% and 3.1% of tubers suffering damage, respectively, compared to the untreated control where 20.8% of tubers suffered damage (from both species). These results highlight the potential of Spinosad as an effective biocontrol method for potato pests in organic farming, contributing to sustainable agriculture practices and increased marketable yields.","PeriodicalId":10849,"journal":{"name":"Crop Science","volume":"329 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148285882","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Crop SciencePub Date : 2026-05-20DOI: 10.1002/csc2.70302
Trevor A. Palone, Clint Beiermann, Patrick M. Carr, Joseph Jensen, Greg Lutgen, Kent McVay, Qasim A. Khan, Teigen Nelson, Hannah Uhlmann, Jessica L. Williams, Jamie D. Sherman
{"title":"Extended grain fill stabilizes malt barley quality across variable environments and nitrogen inputs","authors":"Trevor A. Palone, Clint Beiermann, Patrick M. Carr, Joseph Jensen, Greg Lutgen, Kent McVay, Qasim A. Khan, Teigen Nelson, Hannah Uhlmann, Jessica L. Williams, Jamie D. Sherman","doi":"10.1002/csc2.70302","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/csc2.70302","url":null,"abstract":"Barley ( <jats:italic>Hordeum vulgare</jats:italic> L.) intended for malting must meet quality standards for producers to receive premium prices. In semiarid climates, variable weather can reduce grain quality and lead to over‐ or underfertilization, further compromising economic returns. The stay‐green trait may support producers’ attainment of malt quality standards across variable environments and nitrogen (N) inputs by sustaining photosynthesis during grain filling through earlier heading and or delayed senescence. We identified three barley cultivars carrying distinct combinations of stay‐green‐associated quantitative trait loci (QTLs), with Buzz and MT Endurance exhibiting extended grain fill relative to the cultivar Hockett. This study evaluated whether variation in N response among the cultivars could be attributed to their stay‐green‐associated QTL combinations and resulting effects on malt quality. Cultivars were grown under four N treatments across four locations from 2019 to 2023. Extended grain fill in Buzz and MT Endurance improved the attainability of producer market traits, particularly in trials with elevated temperatures, reduced precipitation, and overfertilization. Under these conditions, Hockett exceeded grain protein thresholds and failed to meet kernel plumpness standards, whereas the extended grain fill cultivars maintained acceptable protein concentrations and higher plumpness. These responses were associated with stay‐green‐associated QTLs, which shift the balance toward starch accumulation during grain filling and help maintain malt quality under variable N and environmental conditions. These findings provide a basis for further investigation into how stay‐green traits and their associated QTLs enhance the starch‐to‐protein ratio, enabling barley to maintain key producer market traits under elevated N and environmental stress.","PeriodicalId":10849,"journal":{"name":"Crop Science","volume":"8 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148285930","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}