Registration of N6202 Soybean Germplasm with High Protein, Favorable Yield Potential, Large Seed, and Diverse Pedigree

Abstract

‘N6202’ soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] (Reg. No. GP‐366, PI 658498) was cooperatively developed and released by the USDA–ARS and the North Carolina Agricultural Research Service in October 2009 as a mid–Maturity Group VI germplasm with high‐protein seed, favorable yield potential, large seed size, and diverse pedigree. The unusual combination of high protein and favorable yield in this germplasm, plus its diverse genetic background, makes it a potentially desirable breeding stock for both specialty and commodity breeding programs. N6202 was developed through conventional breeding and is adapted to the southern United States. Average seed protein level was 457 g kg−1 (zero moisture basis), which was 33 g kg−1 greater (p < 0.05) than that of the control cultivar NC‐Roy. Average yield of N6202 was more than 90% of NC‐Roy over 65 environments. The 100‐seed weight of N6202 (21.4 g) was significantly greater (p < 0.05) than that of the largest‐seeded control cultivar Dillon (15.2 g).Twenty‐five percent of N6202's pedigree is derived from Japanese cultivar Fukuyataka. Fukuyataka is not known to be related to the genetic base of U.S. soybean. An additional 25% of N6202's pedigree traces to the Japanese cultivar Nakasennari, which appears in the pedigree of only one cultivar (its parent ‘N6201’). Thus, the release of N6202 broadens the genetic range of materials adapted for soybean breeding in the United States. N6202 exhibits a moderate level of the bleeding hilum trait in some environments.