The grant would enable NDSU to continue the process of developing glyphosate-resistant soybean cultivars. There are glyphosate-resistant experimental lines in the NDSU breeding program that are being tested in a range of maturity that varies from a 1.0 to a 00.4 maturity, and properly adapted throughout the entirety of North Dakota. New experimental lines are developed each year. This project will significantly reduce seed costs to soybean growers. NDSU has a very large breeding program devoted to development of glyphosate-resistant cultivars and will continue to expand this year. Monsanto has stated that starting in 2015 growers will be able to save their own seed for planting the following year. However, the private company cultivars are also protected under a Variety Patent. Cultivars developed at NDSU are not patented. The cost savings for growers that purchase glyphosate-resistant cultivars developed by NDSU will occur the second and subsequent years after the initial purchase of the seed. The seed of new experimental lines will be increased in Chile, S.A. each winter to speed the development and release.

The objective is to continue the process of developing glyphosate-resistant experimental lines with a goal of releasing additional cultivars of varying maturities that are developed by NDSU.

NDSU has released 4 glyphosate tolerant varieties. In 2021, two new glyphosate tolerance lines were released: ND21008GT20 and ND2108GT73. ND21008GT20 is an improvement on ND17009GT with increased IDC tolerance. ND2108GT73 is the first later maturing line at MG 0.8. This variety allows NDSU soybean to be grown in new areas of the states and even in South Dakota, expanding the market area for NDSU The first glyphosate-resistant cultivar (ND17009GT) was released in January of 2017. ND17009GTis a 00.9 maturity, glyphosate-resistant variety with high yield, excellent phytophthora root rot resistance that is moderately tolerant to IDC. ND18008GT is a 00.7 maturity, glyphosate-resistant NDSU variety that was released in January of 2018. ND18008GT is resistant to soybean aphid, has an excellent gene for phytophthora root rot resistance, good IDC tolerance and lodging resistance as well as yield that is equal to a private-company RR2 variety. The NDSU Soybean Breeding program has a past history of producing new cultivars that are very competitive with private company products. The first high yielding glyphosate tolerant variety that is also tolerant to IDC and soybean cyst nematode is expected to be pre-released in 2022.

Update:
Breeding of Glyphosate-Tolerant Soybean Cultivars (2022)- Miranda

Objectives of the research: The objective is to continue the process of developing glyphosate-tolerant experimental lines with a goal of releasing additional cultivars of varying maturities that are developed by NDSU.

Completed work: The glyphosate tolerant program is two/thirds of the NDSU soybean breeding program in 2022. The first SCN resistant, glyphosate tolerant variety will be considered for release in January 2023. 300 pounds of breeder seed was handed over to Foundation Seedstock in spring 2022 with the hope that seed will be increased upon variety release approval. A second glyphosate tolerant variety will also be evaluated for release in January 2023, it is a MG 00.6 variety that has an increase in yield compared to 17009GT and a shorter season length.

In addition, fifty new populations that have the glyphosate tolerant gene were created utilizing high yielding germplasm from other breeding programs. These materials are from maturity groups that are not adapted to North Dakota, so this requires very well controlled environments to control flowering times to facilitate pollination. This is being done in growth chambers in the AES Greenhouse.

Also, to test the ability to expediate variety development and release, 10 new glyphosate populations in the F1 generation were sent to the Puerto Rico winter nursery in October 2022 with the goal to produce two generations of advancement during the North Dakota winter instead of the typical one generation. If successful, then time from pollination/crossing to yield testing would be only 3 years. This would allow the breeding pipeline timeline to be decreased by one year.

Data from yield tests collected from the 2022 field season is currently being analyzed.

Preliminary results: Additional analysis is ongoing to determine which lines will continue testing in 2023. 50 new populations were created which are being grown in Chile, Puerto Rico, or in the AES Greenhouse growth chambers this winter.

Two glyphosate tolerant varieties will be evaluated for release this January. These include a MG 0 SCN and glyphosate tolerant variety and an early maturing MG 00.6 glyphosate tolerant variety.

Work to be completed: Data harvested in 2022 is currently being analyzed for selections of promising lines. The analysis this year includes the use of genomic prediction models which is funded by the North Central Soybean Research Program. This could possibly allow for better selections for high yielding lines.

Update:
Breeding of Glyphosate-Tolerant Soybean Cultivars
Final Report June 2023
PI: Carrie Miranda

Objectives of the research: The objective is to continue the process of developing glyphosate-tolerant experimental lines with a goal of releasing additional cultivars of varying maturities that are developed by NDSU.

Completed work:
Number of lines in the program planted in 2023

Stage of development Number of lines
Ready for prerelease
.5 acre breeder seed increase 1 w/ SCN resistance
4th year (final) yield testing 2
3rd year yield testing 9
2nd year yield testing 40
1st year yield testing 382

The biggest achievement of 2022 was the identification of a glyphosate tolerant experimental line with excellent SCN resistance. In 2023 it will undergo an additional year of yield testing in both normal and SCN infested field conditions. If the data proves consistent with other years of data for this line, it will be put up for prerelease in January 2024 and if that is approved, then it will go up for variety release in spring 2024 or 2025.

The number of entries for all other yield trials is typical of previous years.

I am optimistic to transition this project to include additional herbicide traits besides glyphosate tolerance. At this moment that is my biggest priority as glyphosate tolerance is losing its marketplace as resistant weeds become more common.

Currently the soybean breeding program was divided between non-GMO soybean and glyphosate tolerance. This presented a challenge to improve yield and disease resistance twice over, once in the conventional which already has the highest yield and most resistant lines and then try to duplicate that effort in the GT project. Upon the advice of the consultant Steve Schnebly, he recommends having a large “core germplasm” collection where I focus on breeding cumbersome but necessary agronomic and disease traits. Then have a “trait introgression” program where I use one donor line with the herbicide tolerance gene and cross into the most advantageous core germplasm line. I can then use marker assisted selection to ensure I only select lines with the herbicide trait incorporated. This can speed up breeding if coordinated with a successful winter nursery plan.

As of 2022, I am using three winter nurseries: Costa Rica, Chile, and Puerto Rico. Costa Rica is useful for speed. With its equatorial location, soybean seasons are extremely short and can produce seed in 100 days or less. It is possible to get 4 generations of seed advancement. The tradeoff is in seed quantity and quality. That is what Chile is useful for. Chile has a much longer season, similar to a North Dakota season length, but I receive very high quality seed. Puerto Rico is useful for getting 2 seasons in between ND growing seasons. Puerto Rico is used when I need to observe some parts of the advancement or need to use markers early in the advancement plan.

Using these nurseries makes it possible to produce materials all year round. Previously the advancement plan was

Time Location Generation
Year 1: Summer North Dakota Cross/ initiate population
Year 1/2: Winter Chile F1
Year 2: Summer North Dakota F2
Year 2/3: Winter Chile F3
Year 3: Summer North Dakota F4
Year 4: Summer North Dakota F5
Year 5-8: Summer North Dakota Yield trials

Using different winter nurseries allows faster advancement of early generations

Time Location Generation
Year 1: Summer North Dakota Cross/ initiate population
Year 1/2: Winter Puerto Rico F1 and F2
Year 2: Summer North Dakota F3
Year 2/3: Winter Chile F4
Year 3: Summer North Dakota F5
Year 4-7: Summer North Dakota Yield trials

We also use the greenhouse to our advantage to conduct crosses year round:

Time Location Generation
Year 1: Year round (100 days) North Dakota growth chamber Cross/ initiate population
Year 1: As soon as seed is ready (100 days) North Dakota growth chamber F1
Year 1/2: Costa Rica F2, F3, F4
Year 2: Winter Chile F5
Year 3-6: Summer North Dakota Yield Trials

Because of these new advancement plans, it will be possible to transition to a trait introgression project and not lose breeding and testing time.

View uploaded report

View uploaded report 2

View uploaded report 3

2022 was a successful year for the glyphosate tolerant program. One line was identified for potential release based on it's high yield and SCN resistance. One more year of data will be collected before data are shared to unsure it is a useful and successful line. Other testing and advancements of glyphosate tolerant lines are proceeding typically. The main priority of this project will be to acquire additional herbicide tolerances besides glyphosate. North Dakota farmers are ready for additional types of herbicide tolerances as weeds become resistance to glyphosate. Additionally, this project will be adjusted to allow for faster advancement of experimental breeding lines using winter nurseries in Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, and Chile. This will allow experimental lines to be created at a faster rate so they can be tested in yield trials sooner. This will facilitate faster release of herbicide tolerant soybean varieties.

The intent is that growers will be able to reduce their input costs by purchasing high-yielding, very competitive, glyphosate-resistant cultivars developed at NDSU. Monsanto has stated that starting in 2015 growers will be able to save their own seed for planting the following year. However, the private company cultivars are also protected under a Variety Patent. Varieties developed at NDSU are not patented. Currently, four glyphosate-resistant varieties that were developed by NDSU are available to soybean growers. Continual yield and trait improvement is occurring within the program which includes introducing new materials from other successful breeding programs.