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July 1, 2016 – June 30, 2017 Annual Report: Breeding of Glyphosate-Resistant Soybean Cultivars

Principal Investigator: Dr. Ted Helms, Department of Plant Sciences, North Dakota State University
Cooperating Scientists: Dr. Berlin Nelson, Department of Plant Pathology, North Dakota State University

The purpose of this research is to provide superior glyphosate-resistant varieties that have been developed by North Dakota State University (NDSU). Growers would like to purchase glyphosate-resistant soybean varieties and be able to save their own seed for planting the next year. These varieties need to high-yielding, lodging-resistant, tolerant to iron-deficiency chlorosis (IDC), and have good disease and pest resistance. Soybean varieties are protected by a patent on the glyphosate-resistant gene (construct) and often protected by a second patent on the variety. Monsanto has provided a website to explain these issues (http://www.soybeans.com/patent.aspx).

Development of glyphosate-resistant experimental lines has been initiated at NDSU through a new breeding program. Developing a new soybean variety requires seven years. As the first step in the breeding process, crosses were initiated in the summer of 2010 and new crosses have been developed in each subsequent year. As part of the continuing process of developing new lines, 2,367 GT plant-rows were planted in the spring of 2016. In the 2016 growing season, the first year of replicated yield testing was conducted for 1,500 new glyphosate-resistant, experimental lines. In 2016, 140 experimental lines were tested for the second year and 27 of these have been advanced to the third year of yield evaluation in the 2017 growing season. These 27 advanced experimental lines vary in maturity from a 00.6 to a 0.9 maturity and at this point are yielding very competitively with company GMO varieties. A total of 5,480 plots were devoted to this project in 2016.

Three glyphosate-resistant experimental lines were increased in the 2016-2017 winter season in Chile, South America. An additional 24 advanced GT experimental lines are being yield tested for the third year in 2017 and some of these could potentially be released in January of 2019. ND17009GT is a glyphosate-resistant variety developed by NDSU that was released to seed growers in January of 2017. Commercial quantities of seed for ND17009GT will be available to farmers to plant in the 2018 growing season.

The benefit to the North Dakota soybean industry is that the cost of seed for glyphosate-resistant soybean varieties will be reduced. This will reduce input costs because growers will be able to save their own seed of glyphosate-resistant soybean varieties that have been developed