A new barnyard millet (Echinochloa esculenta L.) cultivar, ‘Da-on’ (line BM3), was developed by the National Institute of Animal Science (NIAS) through pedigree selection using local germplasm collected from Jeju Island in 2016. After four years of line separation (2017–2020), a yield trial (2022), and regional adaptability tests across three sites (2023–2024), its agronomic performance and forage quality were evaluated. ‘Da-on’ is a mid-maturing cultivar with a heading date of August 5, which is 11 days later than the check cultivar ‘Borajik’. It exhibits an erect growth habit, purple panicles, and strong lodging resistance. The average plant height was 178.8 cm, which was 40.8 cm taller than that of ‘Borajik’. The dry matter yield of ‘Da-on’ was 16,858 kg/ha, representing a 130% increase compared with ‘Borajik’. Forage quality traits showed lower ADF (34.0%) and NDF (63.7%) contents, while total digestible nutrients (TDN) were higher (62.0%) than in the check. Crude protein content was comparable between the two cultivars. In addition, ‘Da-on’ showed resistance to lodging and leaf blight during field trials, confirming its stability across diverse environments. These results demonstrate that ‘Da-on’ is a promising summer forage crop cultivar suitable for nationwide cultivation, providing higher productivity and nutritive value to enhance forage self-sufficiency in Korea.

ABSTRACT
Ⅰ. INTRODUCTION
Ⅱ. MATERIALS AND METHODS
    1. Selection of superior individuals and line development
    2. Evaluation of agronomic characteristics of ‘Da-on’
    3. Regional adaptability trials
    4. Forage nutritive value analysis
    5. Statistical analysis
Ⅲ. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
    1. Agronomic characteristics of the new barnyard milletcultivar ‘Da-on’
    2. Dry matter yield performance
    3. Forage nutritive value
Ⅳ. CONCLUSIONS
Ⅴ. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Ⅵ. REFERENCES

• Bo Ram Choi(Forages Production Systems Division, National Institute of Animal Science, Cheonan 330-801, Republic of Korea)
• Hyung Soo Park(Forages Production Systems Division, National Institute of Animal Science, Cheonan 330-801, Republic of Korea)
• Sang-Hoon Lee(Forages Production Systems Division, National Institute of Animal Science, Cheonan 330-801, Republic of Korea)
• Jae Hoon Woo(Forages Production Systems Division, National Institute of Animal Science, Cheonan 330-801, Republic of Korea)
• Ki-Won Lee(Forages Production Systems Division, National Institute of Animal Science, Cheonan 330-801, Republic of Korea) Corresponding author