The level of β-glucan which is a major soluble dietary fiber found in the grain endosperm cell wall was highly variable among 25 barley genotypes grown at four locations including Suwon, Naju, Jinju, and Jeju. Statistically significant genotypic effects were observed for β-glucan content at each or across growing sites (P<0.001). On average, 'Chalssalbori' showed the lowest percentage β-glucan (4.04%) among genotypes in the grain, whereas 'Yonezawa Mochi' was highest in percentage β-glucan (6.46%) compared to other genotypes. The significant difference between genotypes was approximately 1-2% across environments. The effects of location or interaction between locations and genotypes were not significant on the variation of β-glucan contents. High β-glucan content seemed to be greatly associated with such grain traits as waxiness and presence of husk except for 'Chalssalbori'. The waxy genotypes had a mean of 5.37% and values ranging from 5.28 to 5.47%, but normal genotypes had a mean of 4.78% and values ranging from 4.69 to 4.88% over environments. Hulless barley genotypes were also higher than hulled barley genotypes for the average β-glucan content in both individual and over all environments. The difference between the hulled and hulless gene pools was on average of 0.37% with ranges from 0.19% to 0.56% at four environments. β-glucan content measured from a mapping population of F5 -derived 107 lines derived from the cross between 'Yonezawa Mochi' and 'Neulssalbori' was not significantly associated with other agronomic traits except for 1,000-kernel weight at the '01 Suwon environment. Not too much information on the relationship of β-glucan content to agronomic traits was available.

Molecular-based genetic diversity for a set of 141 accessions of Korean barley cultivars and 24 accessions of foreign exotic cultivars were analyzed using random amplified polymorphic DNAs (RAPDs). Different level of genetic variability was observed with 30 random decamer primers in the Korean barley varieties and breeding lines which were preliminarily classified by morphological (hulled & hulless barley) and end-use (malting barley) and/or by the released periods. A total of 74 RAPD bands were scored, and the number of bands per primer varied from 1 to 7 with an average of 2.74. The hulled barley pool had one more marker genotype per primer than the hulless barley pool. The polymorphic information content (PIC) values based on the band pattern frequencies among genotypes varied depending on genetic pools where mean PICs of hulled, hulless and malting barleys were 0.62, 0.57, and 0.43, respectively. Certain genomic loci amplified by opR04, opF01, opB05, and opC13 were highly polymorphic with PIC>0.8. Patterns and temporal trends of genetic diversity assessed over the period from 1970s to 1990s had a tendency to increase, and in particular, this upward slant was quite clear and significant for the hulless barley pool. In the cluster analysis using genetic similarity matrix calculated from RAPD profiles, two major groups and several small subgroups were classified. Major grouping of materials was not affected by the presence of the husk but by their genetic background and the spike-row type. The validity of information on the genetic diversity and relationships between genotypes will have been reviewed to predict their yield potential.

Lysine is the first essential amino acid for optimal nutrient quality in rice grain. For the narrow genetic diversities of lysine contents in rice, somaclonal variation was the source of mutation in our breeding program. Biochemical selection was conducted using 1 mM S-(2-aminoethyl) cysteine followed by two passages of 5 mM lysine plus threonine in the callus subculture medium. The lysine contents in endosperm of all progenies recovered from the biochemical selection were higher than those of their donor cultivar 'Hwayeongbyeo'. These elevated lysine levels of mutants were successfully transmitted to M4 generation. The lysine contents in endosperm varied 3.85 to 4.80% compare to their donor cultivar 'Hwayeongbyeo' was 3.85%. Three of high-lysine germplasms, Lys-l, Lys-2 and Lys-7 were selected by biochemical selection and rapid screening methods. DNA analysis showed that a new insertion of Tos 17 which mapped to rice chromosome 11 on the high-lysine mutant, Lys-2.

A new graft cactus (Gymnocalycium mihanovichii) cultivar 'eumhong' was developed from a cross 'G9331'and 'onkyo G1-13'of G. mihanovichii by in vitro grafting and line selection at National Horticultural Research Institute, Rural Development Administration

A new graft cactus (Gymnocalycium mihanovichii) cultivar “Danhong” was developed from a cross “930903” and “IG9332” of G. mihanovichii by in vitro grafting and line selection at National Horticultural Research Institute, Rural Development Administration i

A new vegetable soybean cultivar ‘Shillok’ was released by the National Crop Experiment Station, RDA, in 2000. The crossing between Suwon 163 and Jinpumkong 2 was made in the summer season of 1991. The breeding line, SS91809-B-24-4-1, was selected and eva

A new soybean variety “Jangwon” was released by the National Crop Experiment Station, RDA, in 2000. This variety was derived from the crossing between Pokwangkong and SS84040, the elite breeding line with large seed, in the summer season, 1989. The breedi

“Saechucheongbyeo” is a new japonica multiline for blast resistance, which was composed of equal proportions in seed weight of three near-isogenic lines of two combinations. The recurrent parent, “Chucheongbyeo”, was a high-quality rice cultivar with susc

Junganbyeo is a japonica rice variety derived from a cross of Namyang 72* Hapcheon 1 by the rice breeding team ofNational Crop Experiment Station, RDA, in 1999 and was released in 2000. This is a medium-early variety with growth durationtdark gren leaves.

Anseongbyeo is a japonicaseed weight of three near-isogenic lines of blast resistance. The recurrent parent, Suweon345, was a high-quality and semi-dwarf rice cultivar with susceptability to neck blast. The blast-resistance donors for each liens were SR12

Sanglog', a new covered barley cultivar resistant to powdery mildew and barley yellow m osaic virus (BaYMV) was developed by the barley breeding team of the National Crop Experim ent Station (NCES), RDA in 1999. This variety was derived from a cross betwe

Allelic diversity of 44 microsatellite marker loci originated from the coding regions of specific genes or the non-coding regions of barley genome was analyzed for 19 barley genotypes. Multi-allelic variation was observed at the most of marker loci except for HVM13, HVM15, HVM22, and HVM64. The number of different alleles ranged from 2 to 12 with a mean of 4.0 alleles per micro-satellite. Twenty-one alleles derived from 10 marker loci are specific for certain genotypes. The level of polymorphism (Polymorphic Information Content, PIC) based on the band pattern frequencies among genotypes was relatively high at the several loci such as HVM3, HVM5, HVM14, HVM36, HVM62 and HVM67. In the cluster analysis using genetic similarity matrix calculated from microsatellite-derived DNA profiles, two major groups were classified and the spike-row type was a major factor for clustering. Correlation between genetic similarity matrices based on microsatellite markers and pedigree data was highly significant (r=0.57** ), but these two parameters were moderately associated each other. On the other hand, RAPD-based genetic similarity matrix was more highly associated with microsatellite-based genetic similarity (r=0.63** ) than coefficient of parentage.

Borami' is a new sweetpotato cultivar with light purple flesh developed at the Mokpo Experiment Station, The National Honam Agricultural Experiment Station, RDA. This cultivar was selected from the cross between 'Yamakawamurasaki' and 'Shinmi' in 1994, Se