Soybean breeding through induced mutation in Vietnam.

Abstract

Abstract In Vietnam, soybean is one of the traditional crops and plays an important role in crop rotation, soil improvement and meeting the nutritional needs of humans and livestock. With the aim of generating genetic variability in soybean and creating new soybean varieties to meet the needs of production, induced mutation research has been carried out since the 1980s and has gained outstanding achievements. Induction of modified traits and their incorporation into an ideal genotype was achieved by judicious use of the induced mutation technique. So far, outstanding soybean varieties such as DT84, DT90, DT99, DT2008 and several promising lines have been developed in Vietnam by incorporating desirable traits like high and stable yield (2.0-3.5 t/ha), good quality, drought tolerance, disease resistance (rust, powdery mildew, downy mildew), short growth duration (70-100 days), wide adaptability and suitability for cropping systems and ecological regions in the whole country. The most outstanding variety, DT84, occupies over 50% of the total production area and 80% in Central and North Vietnam (about 70,000-80,000 ha/year). These varieties have also been used as materials for developing several additional improved soybean varieties. Thus, induced mutation research has played an important role in improving soybean varieties in Vietnam.