This study reports the development of a new alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) variety, ‘Alfaone’, at the Forage Production Systems Division, National Institute of Animal Science, Rural Development Administration, Korea, from 2015 to 2023. The variety originated from an artificial cross between Xun Lu (maternal parent) and RadarⅡ Brand (paternal parent), followed by pedigree selection and performance testing. The elite line ‘MsCB01’ was subsequently released as ‘Alfaone’. Regional adaptability trials were conducted for two years (2022–2023) across four representative sites in Korea (Cheonan, Pyeongchang, Jeongeup, and Jinju) to evaluate agronomic traits, forage yield, and quality. Evaluated characteristics included plant height, regrowth ability, winter survival, and lodging resistance. The average dry matter yield of ‘Alfaone’ was 20,811 kg/ha, approximately by about 3% higher than that of the standard cultivar ‘Vernal’ (20,236 kg/ha). Yield superiority was particularly evident in Pyeongchang, suggesting excellent cold tolerance and winter hardiness. Assessment of forage nutritive traits indicated that ‘Alfaone’ was comparable to ‘Vernal’, demonstrating that its yield advantage did not come at the expense of quality. Overall, ‘Alfaone’ is a promising cultivar that combines high productivity with strong adaptability to unfavorable environments, particularly cold-prone regions. Its release is expected to promote the expansion of alfalfa cultivation, enhance forage self-sufficiency, and reduce dependence on imported hay in Korea.

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.

A new oak mushroom cultivar Lentinula edodes ‘Eomjisong’ (LE23734), was developed by crossing the dikaryotic and monokaryotic strains of ‘KME36298’ and ‘KME36288-1’, respectively. The optimal temperature for mycelial growth of ‘Eomjisong’ on potato dextrose agar was 23–27°C, and was 15–20°C for fruiting body development. The cultivation period of ‘Eomjisong’ was 131 days, which was 3 days shorter than that of the control cultivar ‘Hanacham’. Morphologically, ‘Eomjisong’ showed stipe length and thickness similar to those of ‘Hanacham’, however, the pileus was larger and thicker. Furthermore, the pileus of ‘Eomjisong’ exhibited higher brightness than that of ‘Hanacham’. Productivity tests showed that the total yield of ‘Eomjisong’ reached 555 g, which was approximately 25.6% higher than that of ‘Hanacham’ (442 g). These findings indicate that ‘Eomjisong’ is a promising cultivar with enhanced productivity and morphological advantages over ‘Hanacham’, suggesting its potential for commercial cultivation.

In order to develop a stable production and delicious unique cultivar of beech mushrooms, we generated hybrids using wild resources collected domestically, and we developed excellent strains by identifying the mycelial cultivability of the hybrid strains. The developed strains were cultivated according to the type of spawn and incubation time, and strains with excellent yield and shape were first selected, and second strains with less bitterness and excellent taste were selected through quantitative descriptive analysis. This was verified in farms, and ‘HM6-6’, which had a good reputation in the field, was directly developed cultivars as ‘Maruking’. In addition, the yield was high overall in the 90-day culture of the growth substrate inoculated with solid spawn, and the ‘Maruking’ cultivar, was also best in the 90-day culture. The yield was high overall in the 75-day culture of the liquid spawn, but ‘Maruking’ showed excellent yield when cultured for 70 days.

Oyster mushroom is one of the most widely cultivated and consumed mushrooms in Korea, and mechanization and automation of cultivation systems have enabled mass production. Many cultivars have been developed to replace the old ones such as ‘Suhan‘ and ‘Chunchuneutari 2 ho,‘ which have been cultivated for over 20 years. Among these, ‘Soltari‘ was developed in 2015. Although it has excellent quality, its cultivation is challenging and the productivity is somewhat lower. To address these issues, the Mushroom Division at the National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science selected the genetic resource KMCC05165 and attempted hybridization between monokaryons from KMCC05165 and ‘Soltari(KMCC04940)’. Through repeated cultivation tests and evaluation of fruiting body characteristics, the superior strain ‘Po-2019-smj22’ was selected and finally named ‘Otari‘. The optimal mycelial growth temperature of ‘Otari’ was between 25 and 30°C and optimal fruiting body growth temperature was between 13 and 18°C. Mycelial growth on PDA medium was best at 25°C, and at the same temperature, mycelial growth was similar across four media: PDA, MEA, MCM, and YM. In 1,100 mL bottle cultivation, the yield was approximately 174 g, which is about 5% higher than the control cultivar ‘Soltari‘, and the number of valid individuals was also higher at about 25. The diameter and height of the pileus were 29.8 mm and 17.6 mm, respectively, slightly smaller than ‘Soltari‘, and the stipe was thin and long with a thickness of 12.2 mm. Additionally, the pileus’ lightness index (L index) was 30.7, indicating a darker brown color compared to 'Soltari.' With excellent mycelial growth, ease of cultivation, and high yield, the new cultivar ‘Otari‘ is expected to be widely adopted by domestic oyster mushroom farms.

We aimed to develop outstanding domestic varieties suitable for both columnar and cylindrical-shape substrates, aiming to replace foreign varieties. and bred a high-quality new strain named ‘Charmjon’, using genetic resources collected from Japan and China. The optimal cultivation temperature for Charmjon’s mycelial growth was found to be 25°C, and its mycelial growth at 15°C and 25°C was superior to the control variety. In terms of mycelial growth characteristics based on the substrate, Charmjon exhibited excellent mycelial strength on PDA medium compared to the control variety. Through columnar and cylindrical-shape substrates cultivation, we assessed the quantity and morphological characteristics of the fruiting bodies. The results confirmed that Charmjon can be produced stably using both cultivation methods, and it showed higher yields and individual weights than the control variety. In addition, the color of the pileus was notably darker, and the shape of the pileus varied depending on the cultivation method. The test of genetic diversity revealed that Charmjon has distinct genetic characteristics compared to the control varieties.

The development of automated bottle cultivation systems has facilitated the large-scale production of Pleurotus ostreatus, a commonly cultivated oyster mushroom species in South Korea. However, as the consumption of this product is decreasing and production quantities are exceeding demand, farmers are seeking various other mushroom types and cultivars. In response to this, we have developed a new oyster mushroom cultivar named 'Sena'. This high-yielding cultivar has a white pileus and excellent quality. The white oyster mushroom cultivars 'Goni' and 'Miso' were selected as parental strains from the genetic resources of the National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science’s Mushroom Division. By crossing their monokaryons, hybrids were developed and subjected to cultivation trials and characteristic evaluations to select the superior cultivar. The optimal temperature for 'Sena' mycelial growth is 25–30°C, with inhibition occurring at temperatures above 30°C, whereas the temperature for mushroom growth is 14–18°C. The mushrooms grow in clusters, with the white pileus having a shallow funnel shape. Optimal mycelial growth occurs in malt extract agar medium. When cultivated in 1,100 cc bottles, the 'Sena' cultivar had 35 available individuals, surpassing the number 16 available from the control cultivar 'Goni'. The yield per bottle also increased by approximately 157 g, a 24% increase over the control cultivar amount. When 300 g samples of harvested mushrooms were packed and stored at 4°C in a cold storage facility for 28 days, the weight loss rate of ‘Sena’ was approximately 4.22%, lower than that of 'Goni'. Moreover, the changes in pileus and stipe whiteness (measuring 6.99 and 8.33, respectively) were also lower than those of the control cultivar. Since the appearance of a white cap is crucial for quality assessment, the 'Sena' cultivar is superior to the 'Goni' cultivar in terms of both weight and quality after undergoing lowtemperature storage.

The effects of punching treatment on mycelial culture and fruiting body productivity were investigated in a new Lentinula edodes cultivar, “Jadam”, in sawdust medium for the stable production of oak mushroom. As the punching volume and number increased, the weight loss rate and color difference increased and the L value decreased. After spawn inoculation, the sawdust medium temperature and CO2 concentration reached their highest values at 33 and 19 days of incubation, respectively. The O2 concentration showed the lowest value on the 14th day of incubation, which was the opposite pattern to the CO2 concentration. As the punching volume and the number increased, the medium temperature and O2 concentration increased, and the CO2 concentration decreased. Higher punching volumes and numbers resulted in higher temperatures and lower CO2 concentrations. The best fruiting body yield was 5 × 70 mm - 30 (punching diameter × depth - number), and the total yield after three cycles was 644.7 g.

This study was conducted to reduce the phenomenon of the biased cultivation of certain mushroom varieties and to develop a competitive variety of Pleurotus nebrodensis. We have collected and tested characteristics of genetic resources from domestic and overseas varieties since 2015. We bred the domestic variety ‘Boram’. The optimal temperature was 26~29oC for mycelial growth and 15~18oC for fruit body growth temperature. This variety was similar to the control variety (Uram) in terms of the number of cultivation days and yield per bottle. The shape of the new cultivar was round, whereas that of the control group was spatula-like. The yield was 181.1 g/bottle, which was statistically similar to that of the control variety. When incubating the parent and control varieties, the replacement line was clear. Moreover, polymerase chain reaction analysis of mycelial DNA resulted in different band patterns between the parent and control varieties, confirming the hybrid species.