NCR167: Corn Breeding Research

(Multistate Research Coordinating Committee and Information Exchange Group)

Status: Inactive/Terminating

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SAES-422 Reports

Annual/Termination Reports:

[02/13/2003] [04/30/2003] [05/13/2004] [02/23/2006] [03/11/2006]

Date of Annual Report: 02/13/2003

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 06/17/2002 - 06/19/2002
Period the Report Covers: 02/01/2001 - 06/01/2002

Participants

Brief Summary of Minutes

Minutes Attachment:

Attachment

Accomplishments

Publications

Impact Statements

Date of Annual Report: 04/30/2003

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 02/17/2003 - 02/18/2003
Period the Report Covers: 07/01/2002 - 02/01/2003

Participants

Bernardo, Rex (berna022@umn.edu) Minnesota; Bohn, Martin (mbohn@uiuc.edu) Illinois; Carena, Marcelo J. (marcelo.carena@ndsu.nodak.edu ) North Dakota; Coors, James G.( jgcoors@facstaff.wisc.edu) Wisconsin; Dodd, James L. (psr@psrcorn.com) Industry Representative; Heichel, Gary (gheichel@uiuc.edu) Administrative Advisor, Illinois; Lamkey, Kendall R. (krlamkey@iastate.edu) Iowa; Lee, Elizabeth (lizlee@uoguelph.ca) Ontario, Canada; Pratt, Richard (pratt.3@osu.edu) Ohio; W. Russell, W. Ken (krussell3@unl.edu), Nebraska; Wicks, III, Zeno W. (Zeno_Wicks@sdstate.edu) South Dakota; Willmot, David (willmotd@missouri.edu ) USDA-ARS, Columbia, MO

Brief Summary of Minutes

Members Absent: John E. Ayers, Pennsylvania, Javier Betran, Texas A & M, Larry L. Darrah USDA-ARS,Columbia, MO , James B. Holland USDA-ARS,Raleigh, NC, Manjit Kang Louisiana, Ann Marie Thro USDA-CSREES, Wenwei Xu - Texas A & M

Guests: John Dudley Illinois, Dawn Gustafson South Dakota State University, Arnel R. Hallauer Iowa State University, William Tracy Wisconsin, A. Forrest Troyer Industry (Retired), Kenneth Ziegler Iowa State University

The annual meeting of multistate committee NCR-167 was held at the University of Wisconsin Memorial Union, Madison, WI on February 17, 2003. The meeting site and date were determined at the 2002 annual business meeting. Zeno Wicks, III, Chair of NCR-167 planned and coordinated the 2003 annual meeting of NCR-167. James G. Coors took care of the local arrangements for NCR-167.

Dr. Wicks called the meeting to order at 5:30PM, which was followed by each person attending introducing themselves.

The agenda was reviewed:

Review of Agenda

Approval of the February 5, 2001, meeting minutes

Treasurers Report K. Lamkey

NCR-167 Administrative Advisor Report G. Heichel

Committee Reports

Meeting Place Subcommittee Report D. Willmot

Nominating Subcommittee Report Z. Wicks (Subst. for L. Darrah)

Germplasm Release Subcommittee Report J. Coors

100-300 Maturity Group Subcommittee Report E. Lee

400-600 Maturity Group Subcommittee Report J. Coors (subst. for Z. Wicks)

700-800 Maturity Group Subcommittee Report R. Pratt

Unfinished Business

New Business

Adjournment

Dr. Lee moved we approve the agenda and Dr. Coors seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously.

The minutes from the 2002 meeting were unanimously approved.

Dr. Lamkey gave the treasurers report. The NCR-167 committee did not incur any costs for the 2002 annual meeting. The balance at the end of 2002 was $1,132.41.

Dr. Gary Heichel, NCR-167 administrative advisor, gave the administrative advisor‘s report. One of our greatest strengths was our annual corn breeding workshop held in conjunction with the annual meetings. The function of our group is to create synergism that will allow us to do things together that we cannot do apart. Our mid-term review is due early January 2004. Our current charter expires September 30, 2006. If we wish to renew, the renewal should be prepared by December 2005 and be ready for discussion at the 2006 annual meeting. The minutes this year will be submitted electronically.

Dr. Willmot gave the meeting place committee report. The 2004 meeting will be an interregional meeting with NEC-29 - Northern Corn Improvement Conference, NCR-25 - Diseases of Corn and Sorghum, and NCR-204 - The Interface of Molecular and Quantitative Genetics in Plant and Animal Breeding. The meetings will be on February 9, 10, and 11th (til noon) 2004 (Monday-Wed.) at the Sheraton Westport Hotel Lakeside Chalet in St. Louis, Missouri.

The nominating committee report was made by Dr. Wicks. Dr. Wicks moved that the 2006 chair be Dr. Martin Bohn. The 2004 meetings will then be chaired by Dr. Willmot and will be held in St. Louis, the 2005 meetings will be chaired by Dr. Russell and tentatively hosted by Dr. Bernardo at the University of Minnesota; the 2006 meetings will be chaired by Dr. Bohn and tentatively hosted by Dr. Lee at the University of Guelph. There were no changes to the sub-committees.

The germplasm committee report was given by Dr. Coors. The full report can be found on the NCR-167 web site (http://www.agron.iastate.edu/corn/NCR167/Station/Default.html) .

Dr. Lee presented the report on the Uniform 100-300 maturity trials for 2002. The full report can be found on the NCR-167 web site (http://www.agron.iastate.edu/corn/NCR167/Station/Default.html ).

Dr. Coors presented the report on the Uniform 400-600 maturity trials for 2002. The full report can be found on the NCR-167 web site (http://www.agron.iastate.edu/corn/NCR167/Station/Default.html ).

Dr. Pratt presented the report on the Uniform 700-800 maturity trials for 2001. The full report can be found on the NCR-167 web site (http://www.agron.iastate.edu/corn/NCR167/Station/Default.html ).

Dr. Wicks adjourned the meeting at 6:40PM.

Minutes Attachment:

Attachment

Accomplishments

The accomplishments and impacts of the NCR167 multistate committee can be found on the NCR167 web site: (http://www.agron.iastate.edu/corn/NCR167/) and in the individual station reports for 2003 which can be found at: http://www.agron.iastate.edu/corn/NCR167/Station/2003/Default.html

Publications

Carena, M.J. and H.Z. Cross. 2002. Plant density and maize germplasm improvement in the northern Corn Belt. Maydica (In Press); Carena, M.J. and D.W. Wanner. 2002. Registration of ND2000 inbred line of maize. Crop Sci. (In Press). Carena, M.J., J. Ransom 2003 64th Edition of North Dakota Hybrid Corn Performance Testing 2002. Circular of the NDSU Extension Service. Cross, H.Z., D.W. Wanner, and M.J. Carena. 2002. Registration of ND291 inbred line of maize. Crop Sci. (In Press) Gethi, J. G., J. A. Labate, K. R. Lamkey, M. E. Smith, and S. Kresovich. 2002. SSR variation in important U.S. maize inbred lines. Crop Sci. 42:951-957. Edwards, J.W. and K.R. Lamkey. 2002. Quantitative genetics of inbreeding in a synthetic maize population. Crop Sci. 42:1094-1104. Frisch, M., K. R. Lamkey, and A. E. Melchinger. 2002. Storage of molecular marker data in databases for efficient use in plant breeding programs. Zeitschrift f|r Agrarinformatik 10:23-27 Cromley, J.M.D., A.R. Hallauer and C.A. Martinson. 2002. Inheritance of gray leaf spot resistance in corn. J.Iowa Acad. Sci. 109:25-29. Lee, M., N. Sharopova, W.D. Beavis, D. Grant, M. Katt, D. Blair and A. Hallauer. 2002. Expanding the genetic map of maize with the intermated B73 x Mo17 (IBM) population. Plant Molecular Biology 48:453-461. Hallauer, A.R., K.R. Lamkey and P.R. White. 2002. Iowa experimental corn trials. Iowa Agric. Expt. Stn. AG152. 75 p. Darrah, L.L. L.D. Maddux, B.E. Hibbard, D.B. Wilmont, E.A. Lee, W. Xu, D.R. West, J. McKinney, F.J. Betran, J.K. Pataky, P.M. Michener, K.E. Ziegler, B. Gordon, R.W. Elmore, P.R. Thomison, A.B. Geyer, R.J. Minyo, D.E. Stenburg, W.L. Pearce, A. Schaafsma, Zeno Wicks III P. Friedemann, R. Henry, D.B. Fischer, J.F. Strissel, J.A. Deutsch, and S. Tragessor. 2002. White Food Corn 2002 Performance Tests. Special Report 547. USDA-ARS and Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Missouri-Columbia. McMullen, M.D., E.A. Lee, S.J. Szalma, B.S. Bushman, and M.E. Snook. 2002. The role of quantitative trait locus analysis in gene discovery. Proc. of the 56th Annual Corn and Sorghum Research Conf. 56:237-245. Diebold, R.S., K.E. McNaughton, E.A. Lee and F.J. Tardif. 2002. Multiple resistance to imazethapyr and atrazine in Powell amaranth. Weed Sci. (In Press) Tollenaar, M., and E.A. Lee. 2002. Yield potential yield, yield stability and stress tolerance in maize. Field Crops Research 75:161-170. Ying, J., E.A. Lee and M. Tollenaar. 2002. Response of leaf photosynthesis during the grain-filling period of maize to duration of cold exposure, acclimation and incident PPFD. Crop Sci. 42:1164-1172. Lee, E.A., M.S. Staebler, and M. Tollenaar. 2002. Genetic variation and physiological discriminators for cold tolerance in maize (Zea mays L.) during an early autotrophic phase of development. Crop Sci. 42:1919-29. Doersken, T.K., L.W. Kannenberg, and E.A. Lee. 2002. The impact of recurrent selection on combining ability in maize (Zea mays L.) breeding populations. Crop Sci. (In Press) Lee, E.A. and V. Harper. 2002. Suppressor of pericarp pigmentation 1 (spp1), a gene involved in phlobaphene accumulation in maize (Zea mays L.) pericarps. Maydica 47:51-58. Tollenaar, M., and E.A Lee. 2002. Genetic yield improvement and stress tolerance in maize. In: Physiology and Biotechnology Integration for Plant Breeding, H. Nguyen and A. Blum, eds. Marcel Dekker Inc., New York. Lu, H., J. Romero-Severson, and R. Bernardo. 2002. Chromosomal regions associated with segregation distortion in maize. Theor. Appl. Genet. 105: 622-628. Bernardo, R. 2002. Breeding for Quantitative Traits in Plants, (Stemma Press, ISBN 0-9720724-0-3; hardcover, 369 pages, 60 tables, 66 figures) Flint Garcia, Sherry A., Chaba Jampatong, Larry L. Darrah, and Michael D. McMullen. 2003. Quantitative trait locus analysis of stalk strength in four maize populations. Crop Sci. 43:13-22. Flint Garcia, Sherry A., Michael D. McMullen, and Larry L. Darrah. 2003. Genetic relationship of stalk strength and ear height in maize. Crop Sci. 43:23-31. Darrah, L. L., M. D. McMullen, and M. S. Zuber (deceased). 2003. Breeding, genetics, and seed corn production. p. ##-##. In L. A. Johnson and P. J. White (ed.) Corn: Chemistry and Technology, 2nd ed. American Association of Cereal Chemists, St. Paul, MN. Accepted 16 September 2002. (Book chapter) Dudley, J.W. 2002. Integrating molecular techniques into quantitative genetics and plant breeding. In: M.S. Kang, (ed). Quantitative Genetics, Genomics, and Plant Breeding. Proc. Symposium Quantitative Genetics and Plant Breeding in the 21st Century. 26-18 Mar., 2001. Baton Rouge, LA. CABI Publishing, UK Heckenberger, M., M. Bohn, J.S. Ziegle, L.K. Joe, J.D. Hauser, M. Hutton, and A.E. Melchinger. 2002. Variation of DNA fingerprinting among accessions within maize inbred lines and implications for identification of essentially derived varieties. Molecular Breeding 10:181-191. Magg, T., A.E. Melchinger, D. Klein, and M. Bohn. 2002. Relationship between European corn borer resistance and concentration of mycotoxins produced by Fusarium spp. in grains of transgenic Bt maize hybrids, their isogenic counterparts, and commercial varieties. Plant Breeding 121:146-154. Naidoo, G., A.M. Forbes, C. Paul, D.G. White, and T.R. Rocheford. 2002. Resistance to Aspergillus Ear Rot and Aflatoxin Accumulation in Maize F1 Hybrids. Crop Sci 42:360-364. Rocheford, T. R., J. C. Wong, Cem O. Egesel, and Robert J. Lambert. 2002. Enhancement of vitamin E levels in corn. J. American College of Nutrition 21:3:191-198 S. Troyer, A. Forrest, and T. R. Rocheford. 2002. Germplasm Ownership: Related Corn Inbreds. Crop Sci 42:3-11. Betran, F. J.,T. Isakeit, and G. Odvody. 2002. Aflatoxin accumulation of white and yellow inbreds in diallel crosses. Crop Science 42: 1894-1901. Ribaut J-M, Bdnziger M, Betran FJ, Jiang C, Edmeades GO, Dreher K, and Hoisington H. 2002. Use of molecular markers in plant breeding: drought tolerance improvement in tropical maize. In Quantitative Genetics, Genomics, and Plant Breeding, Manjit S. Kang (ed), chapter 7, CABI Publishing, Wallingford, UK. Betran,F. J., D. Beck, G. Edmeades, and M. Bdnziger. 2003. Genetic analysis of hybrid and inbred grain yield under stress and non-stress environments in tropical maize. Crop Sci. (In press). Betran,F. J., J.M. Ribaut, D. Beck, and D. Gonzalez de Leon. 2002. Genetic diversity, specific combining ability and heterosis in tropical maize under stress and non-stress environments. Crop Sci.(In press). Betran,F. J., A. Bockholt, F. Fojt III, and L. Rooney. 2003. Registration of Tx811. Crop Sci.(In press). Betran,F. J., A. Bockholt, F. Fojt III, and G. Odvody. 2003. Registration of Tx807. Crop Sci.(In press). Betran,F. J., A. Bockholt, F. Fojt III, and R. Waniska. 2003. Registration of Tx802. Crop Sci.(In press). Asea, G., G. Bigirwa, E. Adipala, S.A.P. Owera, R.C. Pratt and P.E. Lipps. 2002. Effect of Cercospora zeae-maydis infested maize residue on progress and spread of grey leaf spot of maize in Central Uganda. Annals of Applied Biology 140(2):177-185. Bigirwa,G., P. Lipps, and R. Pratt. 2002. Fact Sheet Northern Leaf Blight: A Disease of Maize. Distributed by Uganda Integrated Pest Management Collaborative Research Support Program (IPM CRSP). Bigirwa,G., Pratt, R. C., Lipps, P. and Adipala, E. 2002. The influence of mulch (infected stover) in the development of gray leaf spot epidemics. IPM Conference for Sub-Saharan Africa Book of Abstracts and List of Participants. p. 16. Pratt, R. C. 2002. Use of IPM in the Control of Multiple Diseases of Maize. IPM Conference for Sub-Saharan Africa Book of Abstracts and List of Participants. p. 91-92. Pratt,R. C., Gordon, S. Lipps, P. Bigirwa, G. Godrey, A., and Pixley, K. 2002. Use of IPM in the Control of Multiple Diseases of Maize:Strategies for Selection of Host Resistance. Proceedings of IPM Conference for Sub-Saharan Africa, Kampala, Uganda, 2002. Pratt , R. C., 2002. OSU and CIMMYT Maize Research -- Contributions to World Food Production Presented in conjunction with Dr. Norman Borlaugs Prospects for World Agriculture in the 21st Century Program for visiting scientists and the public. February 22, 2002, Wooster, OH. Pratt, R. C., and Thomison, P. R., 2002. Pollination Effects on Grain Quality of Maize Hybrids Grown in Variety Performace Tests. Oral presentation at NCR-213 Ann. Meetings, Kansas City, MO.

Impact Statements

The accomplishments and impacts of the NCR167 multistate committee can be found on the NCR167 web site: (http://www.agron.iastate.edu/corn/NCR167/) and in the individual station reports for 2003 which can be found at: http://www.agron.iastate.edu/corn/NCR167/Station/2003/Default.html

Date of Annual Report: 05/13/2004

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 02/09/2004 - 02/10/2004
Period the Report Covers: 03/01/2003 - 02/01/2004

Participants

Bernardo, Rex (berna022@umn.edu) - Minnesota;

Javier Betran (javier-betran@tamu.edu) - Texas;

Bohn, Martin (mbohn@uiuc.edu) - Illinois;

Carena, Marcelo J. (marcelo.carena@ndsu.nodak.edu ) - North Dakota;

Coors, James G.( jgcoors@facstaff.wisc.edu) - Wisconsin;

Larry L. Darrah (darrahl@missouri.edu) - USDA-ARS;

Dodd, James L. (psr@psrcorn.com) - Industry Representative;

Dawn Gustafson (dawn-gustafson@sdstate.edu) - South Dakota;

Heichel, Gary (gheichel@uiuc.edu) - Administrative Advisor;

Lamkey, Kendall R. (krlamkey@iastate.edu) - Iowa;

Lee, Elizabeth (lizlee@uoguelph.ca) - Ontario;

Pratt, Richard (pratt.3@osu.edu) - Ohio;

Ann Marie Thro (athro@csrees.usda.gov) - USDA-CSREES;

Willmot, David (willmotd@missouri.edu )- USDA-ARS;

Wenwei Xu (we-xu@tamu.edu) - Texas;

Brief Summary of Minutes

The annual meeting of the NCR-167 was held at the Sheraton Westport Hotel on February 9, 2004. The meeting site and date were determined at the 2003 annual business meeting. Dr. David Wilmot, Chair of NCR-167 planned and coordinated the 2004 annual meeting and took care of the local arrangements.

Dr. Willmot called the meeting to order at 5:00PM, which was followed by each person attending introducing themselves.

The agenda was reviewed:

Review of Agenda

Approval of the February 17, 2003, meeting minutes

Treasurers Report - K. Lamkey

NCR-167 Administrative Advisor Report - G. Heichel

Meeting Place Subcommittee Report - R. Bernardo

Nominating Subcommittee Report - L. Darrah

Germplasm Release Subcommittee Report - J. Coors

100-300 Maturity Group Subcommittee Report - E. Lee

400-600 Maturity Group Subcommittee Report - D. Gustafson (subst. for Z. Wicks)

700-800 Maturity Group Subcommittee Report - R. Pratt

Unfinished Business

New Business

Adjournment

It was moved and seconded that the meeting agenda be approved. The motion was approved unanimously.

The minutes from the 2003 meeting were unanimously approved.

Dr. Lamkey gave the treasurer‘‘s report. The meeting costs in Wisconsin were $1089.00. We collected $1540 from registration fees, leaving a surplus of $451.00 for 2003. The account balance at the end of 2003 was $1,583.41.

Dr. Gary Heichel, NCR-167 administrative advisor, gave the administrator report. He pointed out our strengths and indicated that we would need to have our new project plan written by December 1, 2005. Dr. Heichel also announced his retirement and the fact we would need to identify a new administrative advisor.

Dr. Bernardo gave the meeting place committee report and will host the 2005 meetings at the University of Minnesota Continuing Education and Conference Center on February 21 and 22, 2005.

The nominating committee report was made by Dr. Darrah. Javier Betran was added to the executive committee. The program chair for the 2005 meetings will be Dr. K. Russell, Dr. Bohn will be program chair for the 2006 meetings, and Dr. Betran will be program chair for the 2007 meetings. The meeting place committee remained the same. Dr. Gustafson was added to the nominating committee to replace Dr. Wicks and Dr. Bohn will replace Dr. Darrah as the chair of the nominating committee. Dr. Krakowsky will replace Dr. Darrah on the germplasm committee. Dr. Gustafson will replace Dr. Wicks on the Uniform tests for 100-300 maturity group committee. Dr. Gustafson will replace Dr. Wicks as chair of the Uniform tests for 400-600 maturity group committee. Dr. Xu will replace Dr. Russell and Dr. Krakowsky will replace Dr. Pratt as chair of the Uniform tests for 700-800 maturity group committee. These changes to the standing subcommittees were unanimously approved.

It was moved and seconded and unanimously approved that Dr. Lamkey chair a project writing committee with Dr. Coors and Dr. Bohn as committee members.

The germplasm committee report was given by Dr. Coors. The full report can be found on the NCR-167 web site (http://www.agron.iastate.edu/corn/NCR167/Station/Default.html) .

Dr. Lee presented the report on the Uniform 100-300 maturity trials for 2003. The full report can be found on the NCR-167 web site (http://www.agron.iastate.edu/corn/NCR167/Station/Default.html ).

Dr. Coors presented the report on the Uniform 400-600 maturity trials for 2003. The full report can be found on the NCR-167 web site (http://www.agron.iastate.edu/corn/NCR167/Station/Default.html ).

Dr. Pratt presented the report on the Uniform 700-800 maturity trials for 2003. The full report can be found on the NCR-167 web site (http://www.agron.iastate.edu/corn/NCR167/Station/Default.html ).

There was a vote of appreciation for Dr. Willmot‘‘s efforts in planning and organizing the 2004 meetings.

The meeting was adjourned at approximately 6:30PM

Accomplishments

Twenty research presentations were presented by university scientists, industry scientists, and graduate students on many topics related to corn breeding. In addition, for the first time, we had 7 posters presented during our poster presentation session. These presentations serve to facilitate the exchange of research information that normally would not get exchanged by this group at other meetings. The abstracts of many of these presentations can be found at: http://corn2.agron.iastate.edu/NCR167/Abstracts/Default.html The purpose of the uniform testing committees is to coordinate the evaluation of elite, unrelease germplasm at several locations in the U.S or Canada. The data gathered from these trials is invaluable in making release decisions on germplasm and allows us to obtain data on traits that individually we cannot obtain. These tests also foster communication and the exchange of germplasm The uniform tests for the 100-300 maturity zone evaluated apppoximately 75 hybrids at 5 locations, the 400-600 maturity zone evaluated approximately 20 hybrids at 6 locations, and the 700-800 maturity zone evaluated approximately 25 hybrids at 8 locations. The results of these tests are made available to the public and can be found at: http://corn2.agron.iastate.edu/NCR167/Station/2004/Default.html Since the 2003 meeting, 36 inbred lines or synthetics were released by the members of the NCR167 regional group. This is an indication of the activity level of the breeding programs in the various states. Similar meetings will be held on the University of Minnesota campus in 2005. The group has decided to meet on campuses for the next few meetings to that we spend some of the meeting actually visiting research programs. The uniform tests of hybrids are being evaluated again in 2004 and hybrids for the 2005 growing season are being produced in 2004 summer nurseries.

Publications

Lee, E.A. 2004. Chapter 89. Maize: Genetics. In: The Encyclopedia of Grain Science, C. Wrigley, C. Walker, and H. Corke, eds. Academic Press. London. (accepted 10-03, in press) Lee, E.A. and L.W. Kannenberg. 2004. Chapter 87. Maize: Breeding. In: The Encyclopedia of Grain Science, C. Wrigley, C. Walker, and H. Corke, eds. Academic Press. London. (accepted 8-03, in press) Lee, E.A. and J.W. Dudley. 2004. Chapter Plant breeding eduction. In: Plant Breeding: The Arnel R. Hallauer International Symposium, K.R. Lamkey and M. Lee, eds., Iowa State Press, Ames, IA. (submitted to publisher 9-03) Tollenaar, M., and E.A Lee. 2004. Chapter 2. Genetic yield improvement and stress tolerance in maize. In: Physiology and Biotechnology Integration for Plant Breeding, H. Nguyen and A. Blum, eds. Marcel Dekker Inc., New York. (in press) Ahmadzadeh, A., E.A. Lee, and M. Tollenaar. 2003. Heterosis for leaf CER during the grain-filling period in maize. Crop Sci. (accepted #C03-0522). Tollenaar, M., A. Ahmadzadeh, and E.A. Lee. 2003. Physiological basis of heterosis for grain yield in maize. Crop Sci. (accepted #C03-0523). Lee, E.A., and L.W. Kannenberg. 2003. Effect of inbreeding method and selection criteria on inbred and hybrid performance. Maydica. (accepted, MS#0962, for Springfield issue, in press 10-16-03) Lee, E.A., T. K. Doerksen, and L.W. Kannenberg. 2003. Genetic components of yield stability in maize breeding populations. Crop Sci. 43:2018-27. Doersken, T.K., L.W. Kannenberg, and E.A. Lee. 2003. The impact of recurrent selection on combining ability in maize breeding populations. Crop Sci. 43:1652-58. Diebold, R.S., K.E. McNaughton, E.A. Lee and F.J. Tardif. 2003. Multiple resistance to imazethapyr and atrazine in Powell amaranth. Weed Sci. 51:312-318. Bohn, M., T. Magg, D. Klein, and A.E. Melchinger. 2003. Breeding early maturing European Dent maize (Zea mays L.) for improved agronomic performance and resistance against the European corn borer (Ostrinia nubilalis Hb.). Maydica 48:239-247. Egesel, C.O., J.C. Wong, R.J. Lambert, and T.R. Rocheford. 2003. Combining ability of maize inbreds for carotenoids and tocopherols. Crop Sci. 43:818-823. Magg, T., M. Bohn, D. Klein, and A.E. Melchinger. 2003. Concentration of moniliformin produced by Fusarium species in grains of transgenic Bt maize hybrids compared to their isogenic counterparts and commercial varieties under European corn borer (Ostrinia nubilalis Hb.) pressure. Plant Breeding 122:322-327. Heckenberger, M., M. Bohn, J.R. van der Voort, J. Peleman, and A.E. Melchinger. 2003. Variation of DNA fingerprints among accessions within maize inbred lines and implications for identification of essentially derived varieties: II. Genetic and technical sources of variation in AFLP data and comparison with SSR data. Molecular Breeding. 12:97-106. Mikkilineni, V., and T.R. Rocheford. 2003. Sequence variation and genomic organization of fatty acid desaturase-2 (fad2) and fatty acid desaturase-6 (fad6) cDNAs in maize. Theor. Appl. Genet. 106:1326-1332. Paul, C., G. Naidoo, A. Forbes, V. Mikkilineni, D. White, and T. Rocheford. 2003. Quantitative trait loci for low aflatoxin production in two related maize populations . Theor. Appl. Genet. 107:263-270. Reif, J.C., A.E. Melchinger, X.C. Xia, M. Warburton, D.A. Hoisington, S.K. Vasal, D. Beck, M. Bohn, and M. Frisch. 2003. Use of SSRs for establishing heterotic groups in subtropical maize. Theor. Appl. Genet. 107:947-957. Reif, J. C., A. E. Melchinger, X. C. Xia, M. L. Warburton, D. A. Hoisington, S. K. Vasal, G. Srinivasan, M. Bohn, and M. Frisch. 2003. Genetic distance based on simple sequence repeats and heterosis in tropical maize. Crop Sci. 43: 1275-1282. Hinze, L. L. and K. R. Lamkey. 2003. Absence of epistasis for grain yield in elite maize hybrids. Crop Sci. 43:46-56. Labate, J. A., K. R. Lamkey, S. E. Mitchell, S. Kresovich, H. Sullivan, J. S. C. Smith. 2003. Molecular and historical aspects of Corn Belt dent diversity. Crop Sci. 43:80-91. Hagdorn, S., K.R. Lamkey, M. Frisch, P.E.O. Guimarães, A.E. Melchinger. 2003. Molecular Genetic Diversity among Progenitors and Derived Elite Lines of BSSS and BSCB1 Maize Populations. Crop Sci. 43:474-482. Edwards, J.W. and K.R. Lamkey. 2003. Dominance and genetic drift: Predicted effects of population subdivision in the BS13(S)C0 maize population. Crop Sci. 43:2006-2017. Lu*, H.-J., H.W. Ohm, and R. Bernardo*. 2003. Mapping QTL for popping expansion volume in popcorn with simple sequence repeat markers. Theor. Appl. Genet. 106: 423-427. Bernardo*, R. 2003. On the effectiveness of early generation selection in self-pollinated crops. Crop Sci. 43: 1558-1560. Lu*, H., J. Romero-Severson, and R. Bernardo*. 2003. Genetic basis of heterosis explored by simple sequence repeat markers in a random-mated maize population. Theor. Appl. Genet. 107:494-502 Bernardo*, R. 2003. Parental selection, number of breeding populations, and size of each population in inbred development. Theor. Appl. Genet. 107: 1252-1256. Flint-Garcia, S. A., L. L. Darrah, M. D. McMullen, and B. E. Hibbard. 2003. Phenotypic versus marker-assisted selection for stalk strength and second-generation European corn borer resistance in maize. Theor. Appl. Genet. 107:1331-1336. (Graduate student thesis publication) Martin, S. A., L. L. Darrah, and B. E. Hibbard. 2003. Divergent selection for rind penetrometer resistance and its effects on European corn borer damage and stalk traits in corn. Crop Sci. 43: In press. Accepted 28JUL03. (Graduate student thesis publication) Barry, B. D., A. Q. Antonio, L. L. Darrah, B. E. Hibbard, J. M. Barry, T. W. Praiswater, C. L. Thiel, and D. B. Willmot. 2003. Release of maize germplasm lines Mo48 and Mo49 with resistance to European corn borer. USDA-ARS and Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station. Xu, W.W., Pollak, L., and Bynum. E.D. Jr. 2003. Tropical x temperate germplasm resistant to corn earworm (Lepidoptera:noctuidae). Crop Protection 22:859-864. Allen, M.S., J.G. Coors, and G.W. Roth. Corn Silage. 2003. In D.R. Buxton, J.H. Harrison, and R.E. Muck (eds.) Silage Science and Technology. ASA, CSSA, and SSSA. Madison, WI. Schwab, E.C., R.D. Shaver, J.G. Lauer, and J.G. Coors. 2003. Estimating silage energy value and milk yield to rank corn hybrids. J. Anim. Feed Sci. & Technol. 109:1-18. Nass, L.L., and J.G. Coors. 2003. Potential of exotic x adapted maize germplasm for silage. Maydica 48:197-206. F.J. Betrán, D. Beck, M. Bänziger, G. Edmeades. 2003. Genetic analysis of inbred and hybrid grain yield under stress and nonstress environments in tropical maize. Crop Sci 43:807-817. F.J. Betrán, J.M. Ribaut, D. Beck, and D. Gonzalez de Leon. 2003. Genetic diversity, specific combining ability and heterosis in tropical maize under stress and non-stress environments. Crop Sci. 43:797-806. F.J. Betrán, D. Beck, G. Edmeades, M. Bänziger. 2003. Secondary Traits in Parental Inbreds and Hybrids under Stress and Non-stress Environments in Tropical Maize. Field Crops Research 83: 51-65. S. Bhatnagar*, F.J. Betrán, and D. Transue. 2003. Agronomic performance, aflatoxin accumulation and protein quality of subtropical and tropical QPM hybrids in southern USA. Maydica 48: 113-124. F.J. Betrán, A. Bockholt, F. Fojt III, L. Rooney. 2003. Registration of Tx811 Maize Parental Line. Crop Sci. 43: 1893-1894. F.J. Betrán, A. Bockholt, F. Fojt III, G. Odvody. 2003. Registration of Tx807 Maize Parental Line. Crop Sci. 43: 1892-1893. F.J. Betrán, A. Bockholt, F. Fojt III, R. Waniska. 2003. Registration of Tx802 Maize Parental Line. Crop Sci. 43: 1891-1892. Barata, C.; M.J. Carena 2003. SSR polymorphisms and heterosis among early maize lines. In Agronomy Abstracts [CD-ROM computer file]. ASA, Madison, WI. Carena, M.J.; H.Z. Cross 2003. Plant density and maize germplasm improvement in the northern Corn Belt. Maydica 48:105-111. Carena, M.J., D.W. Wanner 2003. Registration of ND2000 inbred line of maize. Crop Sci. 43:1568-1569. Carena, M.J.; J. Ransom 2004. North Dakota hybrid corn performance testing 2003. Circular A-793 (Revised). North Dakota Agric. Exp. Station and Ext. Service. Carena, M.J.; H.Z. Cross; D.W. Wanner 2003. Registration of ND291 inbred line of maize. Crop Sci. 43:1568. Hopkins, D.; M.J. Carena 2003. Evaluating spatial patterns of salinity to improve testing of corn genotypes. In Agronomy Abstracts [CD-ROM computer file]. ASA, Madison, WI Hyrkas, A. 2003. Evaluation of selection in early maize synthetic varieties. MS thesis. Lee, E., M.J. Carena and Z.W. Wicks. 2003. Report of the sub-committee on uniform tests in the 100-300 maturity series. In K.L. Lamkey (ed.). North Central Corn Breeding Research Committee (NCR167) Meeting Report. Madison, WI. Melani, M; M.J. Carena 2003. Identification of alternative maize heterotic groups for the northern Corn Belt. In North Central Corn Breeding Research Committee Report. Madison, WI. Melani, M.; M.J. Carena 2003. Identification of early maize germplasm sources for inbred line development. In Agronomy Abstracts [CD-ROM computer file]. ASA, Madison, WI

Impact Statements

Approximately 60 scientists attended the meetings to either share their research or learn what others are doing in their research
The collection of high quality data facilites the release of inbred lines and gives seed companies, universities, and growers an early glimpse of the germplasm in the university piplines
The release of inbred lines is one of the ulitmate impacts from public breeding programs. Their ultimate impact can be determined by the number of licenses of these lines that get established.

Date of Annual Report: 02/23/2006

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 02/21/2005 - 02/22/2005
Period the Report Covers: 03/01/2004 - 02/01/2005

Participants

The followng individuals attended our annual meeting. In addition to the official representatives of the group we include industry representatives, guests, and graduate students:;;
Arbelbide, Martin (arbe0006@umn.edu) - University of Minnesota;
Barata, Clarissa (C.Barata@ndsu.edu) - North Dakota State University;
Bernardo, Rex (bernardo@umn.edu) - University of Minnesota;
Betran, Javier (javier-betran@tamu.edu) - Texas A&M University;
Birru, Fufa (fufa.h.birru@monsanto.com) - Monsanto;
Blanco, Mike (mblanco@iastate.edu) - USDA-ARS/Iowa State University;
Bohn, Martin (mbohn@uinc.edu) - University of Illinois;
Bowser, Nicholas (nbowser@iastate.edu) - Iowa State University;
Brinkman, Mark (MJBrinkman@Dow.com) - Mycogen Seeds;
Carena, Marcelo (Marcelo.Carena@ndsu.edu) - North Dakota State University;
Carlone, Mario (MarioCarione@pioneer.com) Pioneer Hi-Bred;
Coors, James (jgcoors@wisc.edu) - University of Wisconsin;
Davis, Georgia (davisge@missouri.edu) - University of Missouri;
Edwards, Jode (jode@iastate.edu) - USDA-ARS/Iowa State University;
Flint-Garcia, Sherry (flint-garcias@missiouri.edu) - USDA-ARS/University of Missouri;
Gardner, Candice (gardnerc@iastate.edu) - USDA-ARS/Iowa State University;
Golden, John (jcgolden@iastate.edu) - USDA-ARS/Iowa State University;
Hallauer, Arnel R. (hallauer@iastate.edu) - Iowa State University;
Jumbo, McDonald (Mcdonald.Jumbo@ndsu.edu) - North Dakota State University;
Kelly, Scott (scott.kelly@syngenta.com) - Syngenta Seeds;
Krakowsky, Matthew (mkrakowsky@tifton.usda.gov) - USDA-ARS;
Lamkey, Kendall (krlamkey@iastate.edu) - Iowa State University;
Lee, Elizabeth (lizlee@uoguelph.ca) - University of Guelph;
Lorenz, Aaron (lore0149@iastate.edu) - Iowa State University;
Mayberry, Ken (kamayberry@dow.com) - Mycogen Seeds;
Medina, Martin (medi0052@umn.edu) - University of Minnesota;
Melani, Marcelo (Marcelo.Melani@ndsu.edu) - North Dakota State University;
Montgomery, Kevin - Golden Harvest;
Olsen, Mike (michael.s.solsen@monsanto.com) - Monsanto;
Osorno, Juan (Juan.Osorno@ndsu.edu) - North Dakota State University;
Pollak, Linda (lmpollak@iastate.edu) - USDA-ARS/Iowa State University;
Pratt, Rich (pratt.3@osu.edu) - Ohio State University-OARDC;
Russell, Ken (krussell3@unl.edu) - University of Nebraska;
Scott, Paul (pscott@iastate.edu) - USDA-ARS;
Sezegen, Bahadir (Bahadir.Sezegen@ndsu.edu) - North Dakota State University;
Troyer, Forrest (atroyer@uiuc.edu) - University of Illinois/Pioneer Hi-Bred;
Turnbull, Clint (cturnbul@iastate.edu) - Iowa State University;
Wardyn, Brandon (bmwardyn@iastate.edu) - Iowa State University;
Ziegler, Kenneth (kenzieg@system78.com) - Iowa State University.

Brief Summary of Minutes

Minutes Attachment:

Attachment

Accomplishments

General accomplishments of the NCR167 multistate committee can be found on the NCR167 web site: (http://www.agron.iastate.edu/corn/NCR167/). However, I would like to focus on a few important accomplishments that each member brings to the group: 1) Multi-state efforts have re-directed public breeding efforts toward finding profitable alternatives to farmers. Low cost population hybrids that are competitive with commercial single-cross hybrids have been avaluated over 20 environments at North Dakota State University. 2) Transgenic maize containing a 40% increase in endosperm lysine was developed at Iowa State University (ISU). This has the potential to reduce the annual cost for livestock and pultry diets. Germplasm is the product of cooperative efforts on breeding at NCR167. Traditional efforts on performance and its relationship with protein and aminoacid levels are also being conducted. This emphasizes the importance that NCR167 gives to maize grain quality. 3) Food and safety was addressed by Texas A&M University by identifying aflatoxin resistant germplasm. The consequence is again saving costs for a better and healthy product. 4) Breeding for low-phosphorous and low-nitrogen content has reduced the environmental impact due to increased ethanol production (distillers grain) in South Dakota, a direct positive impact for South Dakota farmers due to breeding efforts at South Dakota State University. In addition, basic knowledge produced at the Ohio state University on phytic acid levels has provided a potential to reduce P contamination in waterways due to animal manure runoff. 5) There is evidence of public inbred lines being incorporated into private breeding programs, especially in short-season areas (University of Guelph, North and South Dakota State Universities). 6) Most members of the NCR167 group are directly or indirectly related to the USDA - Germplasm Enhancement Project (GEM) that intends to increase the genetic diversity available in hybrid maize. 7) Superior silage maize products developed at Univeristy of Wisconsin have increased the milk production per acre in the state. 8) NCR167 trials over 20 locations have provided a large amount of data for new experimental US inbred lines. 9) New races of northern corn leaf blight were discovered at the Ohio State University and the development of polygenic resistance is underway. 10) As a group we have trained over 50 maize breeding students. 11) The University of Illinois continued the longest selection program available in corn based on oear-to-row selection for grain oil and protein. 12) The University of Minnesota found a significant association of DNA markers with smut resistance what seems to be the first successful exploitation for gene discovery information in the crop. 13) We have continued to create synergism among members. This is allowing us to do things together that we cannot do apart. For instance, accomplishment #8 provides an opportunity to decrease GxE interaction on our top elite materials. PLANS FOR NEXT YEAR: 1) We are planning to restructure the governance of the NCR167 group with long-term as well as short-term positions. We also plan to enhance our cooperation by having more knowledge on the different ways state breeding programs are run and how we can applied new useful information. We recognize the importance of maintaining applied breeding research as well as proving biotechnologies that can be integrated in our breeding programs.

Publications

Dreissigacker, S., P. Zhang, M.L. Warburton, M. van Ginkel, D.A. Hoisington, M. Bohn, A.E. Melchinger. 2004. SSR and Pedigree Analyses of Genetic Diversity Among CIMMYT Wheat lines Targeted to Different Mega-Environments" Crop Sci. 44:381-388. Papst C., M. Bohn, H.F. Utz, A.E. Melchinger, D. Klein, J. Eder. 2004. QTL mapping for European corn borer resistance (Ostrinia nubilalis Hb.), agronomic and forage quality traits of testcross progenies in early-maturing European maize (Zea mays L.) germplasm. Theor. Appl. Genet. 108: 1545-1554. Reif, J. C., X. C. Xia, A. E. Melchinger, M. L. Warburton, D. A. Hoisington, D. Beck, M. Bohn, and M. Frisch. 2004. Genetic diversity determined within and among CIMMYT Maize populations of tropical, subtropical, and temperate germplasm by SSR markers. Crop Sci. 44:326-334. Carena, M.J. and P. Glogoza. 2004. Resistance of maize to the corn leaf aphid: A Review. Maydica 49(4): 241-254. This manuscript was accepted and recognized by reviewers and editor for the quality. Carena, M.J. 2005. Maize commercial hybrids compared to improved population hybrids for grain yield and agronomic performance. Euphytica 141(3): 201-208. Hyrkas, A. and M.J. Carena. 2005. Response to long-term selection in early maturing maize synthetic varieties. Euphytica 143(1-2):43-49. M.P. Scott, S. Bhatnagar, and J. Betrán. 2004. Tryptophan and Methionine Levels in Quality Protein Maize Breeding Germplasm. Maydica 49:303-312 McNaughton, K.E., J. Letarte, E.A. Lee, and F.J. Tardif. 2005. Several mutations in als confer herbicide resistance in redroot pigwees (Amaranthus retroflexus) and Powell amaranth (Amaranthus powellii). Weed Sci. 53:17-22. Lee, E. A, A. Ahmadzadeh, and M. Tollenaar. 2005. Quantitative genetic analysis of the physiological processes underlying maize grain yield. Crop Sci. 45:981-987. Arbelbide, M., and R. Bernardo. 2004. Random mating before selfing in maize BC1 populations. Crop Sci. 44: 401-404. Yu, J., and R. Bernardo. 2004. Changes in genetic variances during advanced cycle breeding in maize. Crop Sci. 44: 405-410. Taller, J.M., and R. Bernardo. 2004. Diverse adapted populations for improving northern maize inbreds. Crop Sci. 44:1444-1449. Yu, J., and R. Bernardo. 2004. Metabolic control analysis as a mechanism that conserves genetic variance during advanced cycle breeding. Theor. Appl. Genet. 108: 1614-1619. Bernardo, R. 2004. What proportion of declared QTL in plants are false? Theor. Appl. Genet. 109: 419-424. Parisseaux, B., and R. Bernardo. 2004. In silico mapping of quantitative trait loci in maize. Theor. Appl. Genet. 109: 508-514. Gordon, S., M. Bartsch, I. Matthies, H. Gevers, P.E. Lipps and R.C. Pratt. 2004. Linkage of molecular markers to Cercospora zeae-maydis resistance QTL in Maize. Crop Science 44:628-636. Shukla, S., T. VanToai and R.C. Pratt. 2004. Molecular genetics of the maize low phytic acid (lpa1-1) mutant. Jour. Agric. Agric. Food Chem. 52:4565-4570. Hakiza, J.J., P.E. Lipps, S. St. Martin, and R.C. Pratt. 2004. Heritability and number of genes controlling partial resistance in maize inbred H99. Maydica 49: 173-182. Pratt, R.C. 2004. An historical examination of the development and adoption of hybrid corn: a case study in Ohio. Maydica 49: 155-172. Willmot, D., B. E. Hibbard, L. L. Darrah, L. Pollak, K. Montgomery, R. C. Pratt, J. Hawk, T. Weldekidan, C. Abel, and J. Foster. 2004. Effect of environment on resistance to the European corn borer (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) in maize. Jour. Econ. Ent.: 97:1745-1751. Pratt, R.C., L. Pollak, and K. Montgomery. 2005. Registration of maize germplasm line GEMS--0002. Crop Science 45: 2130-31. Coors, J.G. 2004. Breeding: Recurrent selection and gain from selection. The Encyclopedia of Plant and Crop Science, Marcel Dekker, Inc. (www.dekker.com). Butruille, D.V., H.D. Silva, S.M. Kaeppler, J.G. Coors. 2004. Genetic structure and generation means analysis of three populations derived from the Golden Glow maize population. Crop Sci. 44:1527-1534. Frey, T.J, J.G. Coors, R.D. Shaver, J.G. Lauer, P.J. Flannery, and D.T. Eilert. 2004. Selection for silage quality in the Wisconsin Quality Synthetic and related maize populations. Crop Sci. 44:1200-1208. Coors, J.G., D.T Eilert, and P.J. Flannery. 2004. Release of inbred line W605S for developing silage hybrids. Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF, P05228US). Coors, J.G., D.T Eilert, and P.J. Flannery. 2004. Release of Wisconsin Quality Synthetic Cycle 3 (WQS C3). Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF, P05177US). Coors, J.G., D.T Eilert, and P.J. Flannery. 2005. Release of Wisconsin Grazing Composite Cycle 2 (WGRCOMP C2). Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF, P05229US). Coors, J.G., D.T Eilert, and P.J. Flannery. 2005. Release of W701BC A multiple-eared inbred line of corn for production of baby corn. Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF, P05295US).

Impact Statements

Training of over 50 graduate students has covered most of the industry high demand for applied corn breeders. This is one of the most important impacts of the group due to the education provided by each member of the group. DuPont/Pioneer Hi-Bred International has been the major provider of scholarships and fellowships. At least $250,000 invested in corn breeding training as a result of the projects activities in a sinergystic way. The term was from May 2004 to August 2005. Students graduated from NDSU have been employed mostly by Monsanto.
The development of corn hybrids less susceptible to aflatoxin has contributed to save growers millions of dollars and improve food and feed safety. The USDA has awarded this project $29,259 from April 2004 to March 2005.
The development of very early maturing corn lines from genetically broad-based germplasm sources has aided in the movement of corn to the US northern Corn Belt saving growers millions of dollars in drying costs and increasing the genetic diversity on farm. The North Dakota SBARE and Corn Growers Utilization has awarded $39,000 from February 2004 to January 2005. Also, royalties have been generated form early maturing products from at least two members.
Profitable low-cost alternatives have been developed. Growers and small seed companies now have the option to incorporate this products in their products and/or fields. The USDA awarded $55,000 in operating funds to develop population hybrids in 2001. Also, the NCR-SARE has provided $37,000 to examine the economic and agronomic potential of open-pollinated corn varieties in 2002-2003. As a consequence, non-gov. organizations such as the MFAI have received $500,000 in 2004 when approaching their senators on this idea. This idea has generated interstate efforts, funds, and a profitable alternative to the farmer.
The group has incorporated basic science in order to apply it and make it useful (e.g. pest resistance QTLs). No funding has been reported.
High lysine maize has not only demonstrated to save millions of dollars in feed but also has the potential to improved human nutrition through genetically engineered maize containing foreign proteins that can enhance the nutritional value of the crop significantly. This has been direclty funded by USDA-CSREES ($22,000) from September 2004 to August 2005. In addition, it was indirectly funded by a major grant awarded by the USDA-DOE Biomass R$D Initiative on $1,999,724 from September 2004 to August 2007.
Breeding for low phosphorous (Phytic acid) and for low nitrogen has addressed the need for a sustainable corn production with minimal effect on the environment especially with the current emphasis on icreasing ethanol production. No funds reported
Unique germplasm has develop high-quality silage inbred lines for increased milk production per acre. No funds reported.
Most members of the group have contributed to increase the genetic diversity of the corn crop by not only participating in the GEM program but also adapting and improving elite exotic germplasm sources to their breeding programs. These important breeding efforts are still not recognized for funding.
Five new inbred lines and seven elite improved populations from Iowa, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Canada (Ottawa), and Delaware were released by members of this group.

Date of Annual Report: 03/11/2006

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 02/20/2006 - 02/21/2006
Period the Report Covers: 03/01/2005 - 02/01/2006

Participants

The followng state official representatives were present in our 2006 business meeting held in Guelph, Canada on February 20:;
Betran, Javier (javier-betran@tamu.edu) - Texas A&M University;
Bohn, Martin (mbohn@uinc.edu) - University of Illinois;
Carena, Marcelo (Marcelo.Carena@ndsu.edu) - North Dakota State University;
Coors, James (jgcoors@wisc.edu) - University of Wisconsin;
Edwards, Jode (jode@iastate.edu) - USDA-ARS/Iowa State University;
Flint-Garcia, Sherry (flint-garcias@missiouri.edu) - USDA-ARS/University of Missouri;
Guftafson, Dawn (Dawn.Gustafson@SDSTATE.EDU) - South Dakota State University
Lee, Elizabeth (lizlee@uoguelph.ca) - University of Guelph;
Pratt, Rich (pratt.3@osu.edu) - Ohio State University-OARDC;
Turnbull, Clint (cturnbul@iastate.edu) in lieu of Lamkey, Kendall -Iowa State University;
Xu, Wenwei (Wenwei.Xu@ttu.edu) - Texas Tech University.

Brief Summary of Minutes

Minutes Attachment:

Attachment

Accomplishments

General accomplishments of the NCR167 multistate committee can be found on the NCR167 web site: (http://www.agron.iastate.edu/corn/NCR167/). However, I would like to focus on a few important accomplishments that each member brought to the group in 2006: 1) Multi-state efforts have continued public breeding efforts toward finding profitable alternatives to farmers. Low cost population hybrids that are competitive with commercial single-cross hybrids have been avaluated over 30 environments at North Dakota State University. Efforts were initiated between the Northern Plains Sustainable Agriculture Society (NPSAS) and NDSU, SDSU, and UMN. One of our members (Dr. Coors) was elected President of the Crop Science Society of America. In cooperation with Dr. Coors we were able to develop a panel discussion at the ASA Annual meeting to address potential alternatives for farmers. 2) The development of corn hybrid with increased levels of essential amino acids continued at Iowa State Univeristy and a new strategy for improving tryptophan levels in breeding programs was proposed. Mating designs were utilized to produce progenies among QPM conversions of elite public lines developed an tested through NCR regional cooperation. The seed production will provide information on performance and how it is related to protein and aminoacid levels. 3) Texas A&M University has continued a project to breed corn germplasm to redce aflatoxin contamination. The lines used in the NCR late maturing trials are a consequence of this program. 4) Breeding for low-phosphorous and low-nitrogen was continued at SDSU. Joint NCR trials witn non-GMO experimental white and yellow elite inbred lines has continued to be indirectly beneficial to SD producers. 5) Molecular work was addressed by some of our members with new approaches to try to incorporate it to breeding programs. The Ohio State University has contributed to pur understanding of host responses to infection and increased our understanding of the number and action of genes for resistance. Verification studies of QTLs coferring resistance to multiple foliar pathogens of maize were conducted to assess the potential for marker assisted selection. Most important the maize breeding program at the Ohio State University has offered the screening of all early maturing NCR trial entries for 2006 which it will become a major cooperation among US northern Corn Belt states, Canada, and Ohio. 6) NCR167 trials over 15 locations have provided a large amount of data for new experimental US inbred lines. 7) As a group we have trained over 30 maize breeding students. 8) We have achieved a new structure of governance for the group based on one of the objectives we proposed in 2005. PLANS FOR NEXT YEAR: 1) We are planning to conduct joint trials that can address the limitations on testing in a limited number of environments. 2) One of our objectives is to interface with other groups.

Publications

Barata, C. and M.J. Carena. 2006. Classification of ND maize inbred lines into heterotic groups based on molecular and testcross data. Accepted in Euphytica. Carena, M.J. and Z.W. Wicks III. 2006. Maize population hybrids: an exploitation of U.S. temperate public genetic diversity in reserve. Accepted in Maydica. Invited paper for a commemorative issue. Carena, M.J. 2005. Registration of NDSAB(MER-FS)C13 maize Germplasm. Crop Sci. 45: 1670-1671. Carena, M.J. 2005. Book review. Travels in the genetically modified zone. By Mark L. Winston. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2005. 280 pp., ISBN 0-674-01529-0. In: Agricultural History (Accepted in June 2005). Carena, M.J. 2005. Exploitation of maize genetic diversity in the northern U.S. Corn Belt. Proceedings of the XII Eucarpia Genetic Resources Section Meeting, Castelsardo, IT. Guimaraes, E.P., E. Kueneman, and M.J. Carena. 2006. Assessment of National Plant Breeding and Biotechnology Capacity in Africa and Recommendations for Future Capacity Building. Accepted in Hort. Sci. (February). Melani, M.D. and M.J. Carena. 2005. Alternative heterotic patterns for the northern Corn Belt. Crop Sci. 45:2186-2194. Tollenaar, M., and E.A. Lee. 2006. Physiological dissection of grain yield in maize by examining genetic improvement and heterosis. Maydica. (submitted 4-08-05, Duvick commerative issue, accepted 7-05, March 2006 publication). Lee, E.A., A. Singh, M.J. Ash, and B. Good. 2006. Use of sister-lines and the performance of modified single-cross maize hybrids. Crop Sci. 46:312-320. Liu. J., E.A. Lee, M.K. Sears, and A.W. Schaafsma. 2005. Wheat curl mite (Acari: Eriophyidae) dispersal and its relationship with kernel red streaking in maize (Zea mays L.). Journal of Economic Entomology. (MS #05-003, editor accepted 6-20-05). Weir, A.D., J. Omielan, E.A. Lee, and I. Rajcan. 2005. Use of NMR spectroscopy for predicting protein concentration in soybean seeds based on oil measurements. JOACS. 82:87-91. Heckenberger M, Bohn M, Frisch M, Maurer HP, and AE Melchinger. 2005. Identification of Essentially Derived Varieties With Molecular Markers: an Approach Based on Statistical Test Theory and Computer Simulations. Theoretical and Applied Genetics 111(3):598-608. Heckenberger M, Bohn M, Klein D, and AE Melchinger. 2005. Identification of Essentially Derived Varieties Obtained From Biparental Crosses of Homozygous Lines: II. Morphological Distances and Heterosis in Comparison With Simple Sequence Repeat and Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism Data in Maize. Crop Science 45(3):1132-1140. Heckenberger M, Bohn M, and AE Melchinger. 2005. Identification of Essentially Derived Varieties Obtained From Biparental Crosses of Homozygous Lines: I. Simple Sequence Repeat Data From Maize Inbreds. Crop Science 45(3):1120-1131. Papst C, Utz HF, Melchinger AE, Eder J, Magg T, Klein D, and M Bohn. 2005. Mycotoxins Produced by Fusarium Spp. In Isogenic Bt vs. Non-Bt Maize Hybrids Under European Corn Borer Pressure. Agronomy Journal 97(1):219-224. Reif JC, Hamrit S, Heckenberger M, Schipprack W, Maurer HP, Bohn M, and AE Melchinger. 2005. Genetic Structure and Diversity of European Flint Maize Populations Determined With SSR Analyses of Individuals and Bulks. Theoretical and Applied Genetics 111(5):906-913. Reif JC, Hamrit S, Heckenberger M, Schipprack W, Maurer HP, Bohn M, and AE Melchinger. 2005. Trends in Genetic Diversity Among European Maize Cultivars and Their Parental Components During the Past 50 Years. Theoretical and Applied Genetics 111(5):838-845. Reif JC, Zhang P, Dreisigacker S, Warburton ML, Van Ginkel M, Hoisington D, Bohn M, and AE Melchinger. 2005. Wheat Genetic Diversity Trends During Domestication and Breeding. Theoretical and Applied Genetics 110(5):859-864. Yu, J., M. Arbelbide, and R. Bernardo. 2005. Power of in silico QTL mapping from phenotypic, pedigree, and marker data in a hybrid breeding program. Theor. Appl. Genet. 110: 1061-1067. Tabanao, D.A., and R. Bernardo. 2005. Genetic variation in maize breeding populations with different numbers of parents. Crop Sci. 45: 2301-2306. Arbelbide, M., J. Yu, and R. Bernardo. 2006. Power of mixed-model QTL mapping from phenotypic, marker, and pedigree data in self-pollinated crops. Theor. Appl. Genet. DOI: 10.1007/s00122-005-0189-7 Arbelbide, M., and R. Bernardo. 2006. Mixed-model QTL mapping for kernel hardness and dough strength in bread wheat. Theor. Appl. Genet. DOI: 10.1007/s00122-005-0190-1 Bernardo, R., and A. Charcosset. 2006. Usefulness of gene information in marker-assisted recurrent selection: A simulation appraisal. Crop Sci. (in press). Asea, G., P.E. Lipps, R.C. Pratt., S. Gordon and A. Ekwamu. 2005. 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Impact Statements

Training of several students by representatives of this group has provided national and international applied breeders with the knowledge necessary to conduct modern breeding programs. Dupont/Pioneer Hi-Bred, approx. $150,000 (across states), May 2005 - August 2006.
Improved animal feed quality for most of the industry through development of maize inbreds with increased levels of aminoacids. USDA-CSREES, $17,500, September 2005 - August 2006.
Breeding corn germplasm less susceptible to aflatoxin through conventional and marker assited selection menthods will save growers millions of dollars and improved food and feed safety. USDA, $29,259, April 2005 - March 2006.
Applying the population-hybrid concept and other low-cost alternatives or high premium products (e.g. early-maturing white corn) will significantly impact sustainable agriculture in the NCR., will strenghten the economic viability of farmers, and will reduce their migration to cities. B. Foundation-NPSAS, $80,000, April 2005 - March 2006
Breeding for low N and P will reduce over-feeding crude protein and minerals in the ruminant diets significantly reducing pollution. No funds reported.
Releases of germplasm continued to be active especially in cooperation with GEM making a significant impact on genetic diversity available in the US. USDA-GEM, $19,562, 2005.
The NCR167 project has been essential to link basic (molecular) and applied (breeding) corn science. For the first time molecular techniques are being incorporated into corn breeding programs and they are being carefully assessed for applied impact. OARDC, $100,000, 2005-2007