Marker assisted breeding for SCN and white mould at University of Guelph soybean breeding program

Lead Applicant: Istvan Rajcan

Research Priority: Competitive Production Systems

Program Type: Tier 1

Funding Cycle: 2021/2022

Research Centre: NA

Research Summary: Soybean F4 (fourth-generation offspring) plant phenotypic selection - to be used for further breeding - is often done based on characteristics such as visual agronomic performance, maturity, number of pods per plant and absence of disease but the presence of resistance genes has not yet been used as a discriminating factor. This can lead to the selection of F4 plants that are susceptible to significant yield-limiting soybean diseases. This project aims to develop a paradigm shift where the selection disease resistant genes will be entirely controlled by molecular markers used on F4 plants, helping to mitigate disease risk and increase the competitiveness of Ontario's agri-food sector.