Registration of ‘Goliath LJ’ and ‘Colossus LJ’ forage soybean cultivars with the long juvenile trait and glyphosate resistance

‘Colossus LJ’ (Reg. no. CV-563, PI 692622) and ‘Goliath LJ’ (Reg. no. CV-562, PI 692621) soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] cultivars were developed by the Clemson University Pee Dee Research and Extension Center in Florence, SC, and released as forage maturity group (MG) VII and MG VIII glyphosate-tolerant cultivars, respectively. After release, both cultivars were licensed by Specialty Seed Incorporated, a company dedicated to providing premium wildlife food plot seed. Goliath LJ is an F₅-derived single plant selection from a cross between SC98-1850 and SC01-785RR. Colossus LJ is a F₄-derived line originating from a cross combination of SC98-1930 × SC00-892RR. Goliath LJ and Colossus LJ both exhibit the long juvenile trait (LJ), which can extend vegetative growth under short day growing conditions. Colossus LJ and Goliath LJ were evaluated in yield trials as MG VII and MG VIII breeding lines, respectively, over 7 years in 46 environments. When compared to grain and forage type soybean cultivars across three South Carolina environments, 2016–2018, Colossus LJ (3107 kg ha⁻¹) and Goliath LJ (2925 kg ha⁻¹) yielded significantly similar to the grain mean (2983 kg ha⁻¹) and significantly higher than the forage mean (2623 kg ha⁻¹). Plant heights of Colossus LJ (102 cm) and Goliath LJ (107 cm) were significantly higher than the grain mean (78 cm) and significantly similar to the forage mean (109 cm). Forage nutritive value analysis showed crude protein of Colossus LJ and Goliath LJ were significantly higher than the forage and grain mean measured across two growth stages. In addition, both lines exhibited a significantly lower acid detergent fiber and neutral detergent fiber in the leaf and pod. Colossus LJ and Goliath LJ are excellent candidates for forage production because of their high biomass production, increased nutritional value, and adaptation to a wide range of growing conditions.