Evaluation of soybean lines in the winter season 2020 in gia lam ha noi

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE

FALCUTY OF AGRONOMY

UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
TITLE: EVALUATION OF SOYBEAN LINES IN THE
WINTER SEASON 2020 IN GIA LAM – HA NOI

Student

Pham Thi Ly

Class

K61KHCTT

Student code

611621

Supervisor

Dr. Vu Thi Thuy Hang

Department

Plant genetics and Breeding

HA NOI – 2021

DECLARATION
I hereby declare that this paper is my own work. All results and data in
this thesis are absolutely honest and have not been submitted before to any
institution for assessment purposes. All sources used in this paper were cited in
references.
Hanoi, 4th March 2021
Student

i


ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
To complete this thesis, I am deeply indebted to people who have been
providing me with precious support and advice.
Firstly, I would like to send my gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Vu Thi
Thuy Hang, Department of Plant Genetics and Breeding, Faculty of Agronomy,
Vietnam National University of Agriculture, for her enthusiastic support, helpful
advice and considerable encouragement in the completion of my thesis.
I would also like to express sincere thanks to the lecturers from the
Faculty of Agronomy in general and lecturers in the Department of Plant
Genetics and Breeding in particular, who taught and created best conditions for
students during learning process and research.
Last but not least, I want to express my sincere thanks to my family and
friends who have always been by my side, give me support and strength to
complete this graduation thesis.

ii


TABLE OF CONTENT

DECLARATION ................................................................................................... i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .................................................................................... ii
TABLE OF CONTENT ....................................................................................... iii
LIST OF ABBREVIATION ................................................................................ vi
LIST OF TABLES .............................................................................................. vii
LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................ viii
ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................... ix
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................... 1
1.1. Background ................................................................................................ 1
1.2. Objectives ................................................................................................... 2
1.2.1. Objectives ............................................................................................ 2
1.2.2. Requirements....................................................................................... 2
CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW .............................................................. 3
2.1. Origin, classification and distribution of soybeans .................................... 3
2.1.1. Origin of soybeans .............................................................................. 3
2.1.2. Classification of soybean .................................................................... 4
2.1.3. Distribution of soybeans ..................................................................... 4
2.2. Soybean production in the world ............................................................... 5
2.3. Soybean production in Vietnam ................................................................. 9
2.4. Soybean research and breeding ................................................................ 10
2.4.1. Soybean research and breeding in the world .................................... 10
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2.4.2. Soybean research and breeding in Vietnam ...................................... 13
2.5. Botanical characteristics of the soybean plant ......................................... 16
2.5.1. Root ................................................................................................... 16
2.5.2. Stem ................................................................................................... 17
2.5.3. Leave ................................................................................................. 19

2.5.4. Flower................................................................................................ 20
2.5.5. Fruit ................................................................................................... 21
2.6. Ecological requirements of soybean plants .............................................. 22
2.6.1. Light requirements ............................................................................ 22
2.6.2. Temperature requirement .................................................................. 24
2.6.3. Water requirements ........................................................................... 25
2.6.4. Requirements soil and nutrition ........................................................ 26
CHAPTER 3. MATERIALS AND METHODS ............................................... 29
3.1. Plant materials .......................................................................................... 29
3.2. Experimental design ................................................................................. 30
3.3. Cultural practices...................................................................................... 30
3.4. Trait measurements .................................................................................. 30
3.4.1. Qualitative traits ................................................................................ 30
3.4.2. Quantitative trait................................................................................ 32
3.5. Evaluation of disease and pest damage and lodging resistance of soybean
lines ................................................................................................................. 34
CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION .................................................. 35
4.1. Phenological characteristics of soybean lines in winter season 2020 ...... 35

iv


4.2. Morphological characteristics of soybean lines in the winter season 2020
......................................................................................................................... 38
4.3. Pod and seed characteristics of soybean lines in winter season 2020 ..... 42
4.4. Vegetative and morphological traits of soybean lines in winter season
2020 ................................................................................................................. 46
4.4.1. Plant height, number of leaves and number of nodes at flowering and
harvesting stage of soybean lines in winter season 2020 ............................ 46
4.4.2. Other vegetative and morphological traits of soybean lines in winter

season 2020 ................................................................................................. 50
4.5. Yield related traits of soybean lines in winter season 2020 ..................... 54
4.6. Individual yield, theoretical yield and harvest index of soybean lines in
winter season 2020 .......................................................................................... 59
4.7. Evaluation of disease and pest damage and lodging resistance of soybean
lines in winter season 2020 ............................................................................. 61
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS ................................... 65
REFERENCES .................................................................................................... 65

v


LIST OF ABBREVIATION

FAO

Food and Agriculture Organization

CRPs

Coordinated Research Projects

TCPs

Technical Co-operation Projects

IAEA

International Atomic Energy Agency

AGI

Agricultural Genetics Institute

VAAS

Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences

vi


LIST OF TABLES
Table 2.1. Status of soybean production in the world in the period 2010-2020 ... 5
Table 2.2. Area, yield and production of soybeans of some countries in the
period 2015-2020 .................................................................................................. 7
Table 2.3. Area, yield and production of soybean in Vietnam during 2010-2020 9
Table 3.1. Soybean lines evaluated in winter season 2020 ................................. 29
Table 3.2. Qualitative morphological and seed traits observed in soybean ........ 31
Table 3.3. Phenological traits observed in soybean ............................................ 32
Table 3.4. Morphological and yield related traits observed soybean lines in
winter season 2020 .............................................................................................. 33
Table 3.5. Evaluation of disease and pest damage and lodging resistance of
soybean lines in winter season 2020 ................................................................... 34
Table 4.1. Means for phenological phases of soybean lines in winter season
2020 (days) .......................................................................................................... 35
Table 4.2. Morphological characteristics of soybean lines in winter season 2020
............................................................................................................................. 38
Table 4.2. Pod and seed characteristics of soybean lines in winter season 2020 44
Table 4.4. Plant height, number of leaves and number of nodes at the flowering
and harvesting stages of soybean lines in winter season 2020 ........................... 48

Table 4.5.Vegetative and morphological traits of soybean lines in winter season
2020 ..................................................................................................................... 53
Table 4.6.Yield related traits of soybean lines in winter season 2020 ................ 57
Table 4.7. Individual yield, harvest index and theoretical yield of soybean lines
in winter season 2020 .......................................................................................... 60
Table 4.8. Disease and pest damage and lodging resistance of soybean lines in
winter season 2020 .............................................................................................. 63

vii


LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 4.1. Leaf and flower characteristics of soybean lines evaluated in winter
season 2020 ......................................................................................................... 42
Figure 4.2. Pod characteristics of some soybean lines ........................................ 45
Figure 4.3. Seed characteristics of some soybean lines ...................................... 46

viii


ABSTRACT
This study aimed to evaluate soybean lines on morphological and
agronomical traits to identify promising soybean lines. Plant materials included
29 lines created by mutation and hybridization. The experiment design was
planted density of 30 plants/ m², sown in 2 rows/bed with the distance of 50 cm
for rows and of 15 cm for plants. The area of the experimental plots is 1 m². As
the result, there are five lines LSB70-23-3, LSB10-12-2-3, and LSB17-22-2-1-3,
LSB17-22-2-1-8, LSB70-30-1, LSB62-2-3 selected for evaluated in other
seasons such as summer-autumn, autumn-winter. The soybean lines had short
and medium growth duration, ranging from 75 days to 98 days, except LSB1710-3-14-4, LSB17-22-2-1-8, LSB17-22-2-1-3, LSB17-24-2-6-9 had long growth

duration of 102 days. All soybean lines were distinguished by the dry pod
colours, ranged from light to dark brown. The soybean lines differed in growth
and development characteristics, of which some lines had higher plant height,
number of pods, number of leaves, and number of nodes. At the harvesting
stage, the plant height of soybean lines ranged from 36.2 - 93.9 cm. The 100seed weight of soybean lines varied from 11.9-24.2g. LSB10-12-2-3 had the
largest seed size with the highest 100-seed weight (24.2 g), followed by LSB104-3 (22.9 g) and LSB17-14-1-9-2 (22.8 g). The individual yield of soybean lines
varied from 7.4 to 18 g/plant. Theoretical yield of soybean lines ranged from
12.6 – 30.6 quintals/ha LSB70-23-3 had the highest theoretical yield with 30.6
quintals/ha, followed by LSB17-22-2-1-3 (30.1quintals/ha) and LSB10-12-2-3
(29.9 quintals/ha), LSB62-2-3 (28.9 quintals/ha), LSB17-22-2-1-8 (28.7
quintals/ha). In conclution, 5 soybean lines LSB70-23-3, LSB10-12-2-3, and
LSB17-22-2-1-3, LSB17-22-2-1-8, LSB70-30-1, LSB62-2-3 selected to
evaluate in other seasons such as summer-autumn, autumn-winter.

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CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. Background
Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) originated from East Asia is the fourth
most important seed crop in the world after wheat, wet rice and corn. Soybean is
one of the most important sources of protein for humans and livestock. The
world's production of soybeans in 2020 was about 368.5 million tons
(FAOSTAT).
Soybean seeds contain amino acids, especially essential amino acids for
the human body such as triptophan, leuxin, isoloyl, valine, lizin, methiomin.
Moreover, there are also contain minerals such as Ca, Fe, Mg, Na, P, K ...,
vitamins B1, B2, D, K, E .... The nutrient composition of soybean seeds (per 100
g) is as follows: 417 kcal (1,745 kJ), 12.5 g water, 35.3 g protein, 19.0 g lipids,
28.2 g carbohydrate, 5 g minerals. The protein concentration in soybean seeds is

very high, about 4-5 times higher than that of rice, wheat and corn, but the
starch content is quite low (Takuji et al., 2013). Soybeans are also processed
into 600 different food types, including traditional foods like tofu, soy sauce,
soy milk, etc and modern preparations such as candy, bread smoked, cheese, etc.
In the soybean oil industry, it is used as paint, ink, soap, plastics, and
artificial rubber. Soybean also provides raw materials for the Pharmaceutical
food processing industry and oil industry. In addition, soybean is also used for
crop rotation and intercropping with other crops to improve yields and soil
nutrition. This is ignificantly important for the intensive crop increase in
Vietnam. With those benefits of soybean, the demand for soybean products is
increasing. This requires the application of new varieties with high yielding and
efficient cultivation.

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In Vietnam, soybeans are widely cultivated in all 7 ecological regions. In
which, the Northern midland and mountainous regions are the areas with the highest
soybean cultivation areas. In 2014, the northern mountainous region planted 50,000
to 60,000 hectares of soybeans, mainly in Ha Giang, Cao Bang, Lao Cai, Dien Bien,
and Son La ... and in the spring and summer-autumn seasons.
Currently, the increase in demand for soybean products requires the
research and development of new soybean varieties. At the same time, it is
necessary to apply scientific and technical advances to breed and select soybean
varieties with high yield, good quality and wide adaptability. For effective
breeding purposes, the creation of the new plant materials has an important role.
Diversity of genetic resources, such as of local varieties is very useful to acquire
valuable traits, including quantitative and qualitative characteristics and
tolerance to adverse abiotic and biotic conditions.
For such importance of plant materials in soybean breeding, my research

is titled “Evaluation soybean lines in the winter season 2020 in Gia Lam, Ha
Noi”
1.2. Objectives
1.2.1. Objectives
Evaluating soybean lines on morphological and agronomical traits to
identify promising soybean lines.
1.2.2. Requirements
Soybean lines were grown in winter season 2020 in Gia Lam, Hanoi and
evaluated for:
- Morphological and phenological traits of soybean lines
- Agronomical traits related to growth and development of soybean lines
- Yield and yield component traits of soybean lines
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- Selecting potential soybean line
CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. Origin, classification and distribution of soybeans
2.1.1. Origin of soybeans
Soybean is one of the crops that humans have known to use and cultivate
for a long time, so the origin of the soybean plant was soon confirmed.
Historical evidence, geographical and archeological evidence all confirm that
soybean originated from Asia and originated in China. Domesticated soybean
plant in China through many pre-feudal dynasties and was cultivated and
investigated possibly during the Shang Dynasty (1700-1100 B.C) BC (Ngo The
Dan et al, 1999). Then soybeans were grown in Japan and many other countries.
Soybean cultivation methods were introduced to Korea from northern China and
into Japan between 200 BC and 300 AD. Today, soybeans provide an essential
source of protein in the diets of many countries in Asia and are an extremely
valuable food and industrial product across Asia. Soybeans were known in

Europe only in the 18th century and in the 19th-century soybeans thrived in the
Americas.
Only when started plant considered as seed crops and cultivated in ideal
water system zones in the US, soybean become such a crop with extraordinary
business and is selected for mechanized agriculture (Hymowitz, 1988).
Some research recorded that soybean was cultivated in Vietnam during
Hung dynasty and even earlier than mungbean and black bean (Ngo The Dan et
al., 1999). Soybean is known as a potential crop with high nutrition values and
has made a great contribution to Vietnam’s economy over a few decades.
However, both soybean cultivation area and productivity are still much lower

3


than those in other countries in the world. Today, Vietnam still has to import
soybeans from USA and China and some other countries.
2.1.2. Classification of soybean
Glycine genus is subdivided into 26 perennial wild indigenous species of
Australia with perennial crops in Australia, the South Pacific Island, the
Philippines, Taiwan and Southeast China. The genome is of 2n, 4n and multiple
deflates (40, 80, 38, 78) (Chung and Singh, 2008; Orf, 2010). Hybridisation
between the species in this sub-family is very unsuccessful, except for Glycine
canescense grown for animal feed. Thus, in vitro culture, pre-embryo stage will
be obtained in order to obtain some ripening fruit between the diploid species of
this subspecies and Glycine max. Some crosses between G. max and tetraploid
species, G. tomentella, can produce hybrid and F1 seeds, but the F1 plants are
ineffective (Nguyen Van Hien, 2000).
According to Hymowit and Newell system in 1984, in addition to the
genus Glycine, there is also the subsidiary Soja. The genus Glycine was divided
into seven species of wild perennial, and subgenus Soja was divided into two

species: soybean cultivated Glycine max (L) Merr and the annual wild species
G. soja Sieb and Zucc.
2.1.3. Distribution of soybeans
During the first three decades of the 20th century, soybean production
was largely confined to the Orient (China, Indonesia, Japan, and the Republic or
Korea).
Nevertheless, in the 1940’s, the U.S. overtook the entire Orient in
production (mainly due to its cultivation being completely mechanized).
Soybeans are very sensitive to daylight, and in turn are grown in regions
where light is available about 12-13 hours a day. In the U.S. over half of the
4


soybeans produced come from the corn-belt. In Asia, the soybean growing
region is fundamental mainly China. In both the U.S. and China, areas of the
best region of soybean production are located within 35-45° latitude.
2.2. Soybean production in the world
Soybeans are the most important oilseed crops in the world, ranking
fourth after wheat, rice and maize. Due to its wide adaptability, it has been
cultivated in about 70 countries but is concentrated in the Americas more than
70%, followed by Asia (Hartman et al., 2016). Currently, soybean genetic
resources in the world are stored mainly in 15 countries including Taiwan,
Australia, China, France, Nigeria, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, South Africa,
Sweden, Thailand, USA and Russia with 45,038 varieties (Tran Dinh Long,
2002).
Soybean production situation in the world in recent years is shown in
table 2.1.
Table 2.1. Status of soybean production in the world in the period 20102020
Year

Area
(million ha)

Yield
(ton/ha)

2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020 (forecast)

102.8
103.8
105.4
111.1
117.7
120.9
121.6
123.9
124.9
122.4
127.6

2.6
2.5
2.3
2.5
2.6
2.7
2.8
2.8
2.8
2.8
2.9

Production
quantity
(million ton)
265.1
261.6
241.3
277.7
306.3
323.3
335.6
353.0
348.7
336.6
368.5

(Source: Faostat, 2019; />
5

Soybean production in the world has increased significantly over the
years. The area from 102.8 million hectares (2010) increased to 122.4 million
hectares (2019), an increase of 19.6 million hectares. The yield increases
substantially from 2.6 tons/ha (2010) and to 2.8 tons/ha (2019). During the
years 2010 - 2019, the production quantity tends to increase over years due to
increased acreage and productivity with almost 265.1 million ha in 2010 and
336.6 million ha in 2020. In recent years, the demand for products made from
soybean is increasing but the world soybean production area is decreasing.
Perhaps the cause is an outbreak of some animal diseases and a reduction in the
need for raw materials for animal feed, especially in China.
Forecast in 2020, the area for soybean in the world was 127.6 million ha,
the yield was 2.9 ton/ha and production was 368.5 million tons. The largest
areas of soybean production in the world are in the Americas, followed by Asia,
Europe and Africa. The Americas provides 87.1% of global soybean production.
America, Brazil, Argentina, India, and China are the leading countries in
soybean production and their soybean production accounts for 90-95% of the
world production. Among major producing countries, the Brazil is the top
producer during the year 2015-2020, (38.6 million ha and 133.0 tons) in terms
of area and production in 2020, followed by USA (33.3million ha and 116.2
tons), Argentina (17.3 million ha and 53.5 tons) and China (9.3million ha and
17.5 tons), respectively (Table 2.2). This is the result of the application of
techniques, mechanization in agricultural production, high yield transgenic and
pest resistance varieties. In addition, in the development strategy, countries also
increase the soybean acreage by replacing other crops such as sunflower (in
Argentina), cotton (in the US), using grasslands (in Argentina and Brazil) or
replacing native plants (in Brazil) (Masuda and Goldsmith, 2009).

6

Table 2.2. Area, yield and production of soybeans of some countries in the
period 2015-2020
Year

USA

Brazil

Argentina

China

2015

33.12

32.18

19.35

6.51

2016

33.47

33.18

19.50

7.09

2017

36.24

33.96

17.34

7.35

2018

35.66

34.77

16.32

7.97

2019

30.33

36.90

16.70

9.30

33.30

38.60

17.30

9.30

2015

32.3

30.3

31.8

18.1

2016

34.9

29.1

30.1

18.0

2017

33.1

33.8

31.7

17.9

2018

34.7

33.9

23.2

17.8

2019

31.9

34.1

29.3

19.5

34.9

34.5

30.9

18.8

2015

106.9

97.5

61.4

11.7

2016

116.9

96.4

58.8

12.8

Production

2017

120.0

114.7

55.0

13.1

(million

2018

123.7

117.9

37.8

14.2

ton)

2019

96.7

126.0

49.0

18.1

116.2

133.0

53.5

17.5

Area
(million ha)

2020
(forecast)

Yield
(quintal/ha)

2020
(forecast)

2020
(forecast)

(Source: Faostat, 2019; />
Due to the selection methods, mutagenicity and hybrid, the United States

has created and breeding new soybean varieties. Varieties with high yield used
as breeding sources in breeding programs. Studies in soybean breeding by

7


mutant methods in the United States also achieved many results. Especially after
many years of testing thousands of soybean varieties, the United States has
found soybean allergy-free varieties. Today, most of development of soybean
varieties are conducted by private sector. However, public-sector breeders still
have an important role. In addition to variety development, public sector
breeders place emphasis on germplasm enhancement, breeding methodology
and molecular technology development. In the future, the productivity of
modern agriculture will depend largely on the ability to breed new varieties
adaptable to changing environmental conditions and management strategies.
China is a neighboring country of Vietnam and has similar farming
practices. Currently, China is the 4th largest country in the world in soybean
production. China has applied scientific advances in hybrid and imported
varieties. In addition, China has a number of programs to improve soybean
varieties with resistance to pests and weeds, suitable to the sub-regional climate.
These typical varieties are CN001, CN002 and YAT12. In recent years, China
has also developed many new varieties by mutation such as Tiefeng 18 resistant
to high alum, good lodging resistance, high productivity and good quality (Ngo
The Dan, 1994).
In general, the world's soybean production in recent years has thrived due
to its nutritional and economic value. The increase in yield and yield of
soybeans was due to several factors, the most influencing being variety.
Forecasts also show that the annual world soybean production will increase by
2.2% to about 371.3 million tons by 2030. However, the reality shows that the
production or demand for soybeans increases but the area of cultivated land

seems to decrease. That requires investment in research to improve seed yield
(Masuda and Goldsmith, 2009).

8


2.3. Soybean production in Vietnam
Soybeans are one of important legume crop in Vietnam. Soy-based dishes
became more popular in everyday dishes.
Vietnam soybean production has been decreased in recent years due to
low yields and the continuing declined in growing area as farmers switch to
more profitable crops, including other field crops and fruits and vegetables.
Soybean production continues to fall well below the demand from the food, and
livestock and aquaculture feed sectors. The soybean production over the years
showed that the development of soybean production area of the country tends to
decrease rapidly. Soybean area in 2014 was 109.4 thousand hectares but that in
2020 decreased to about 50 thousand hectares (Table 2.3). According to official
data from the Vietnamese General Statistics Office (GSO), Vietnam’s
MY2016/17 soybean production was 102.3 thousand metric tons (TMT) on
68,500 hectares (ha). This production was decreased of 18% compared with the
previous year.
Table 2.3. Area, yield and production of soybean in Vietnam during 20102020
Year
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016

2017
2018
2019
2020 (forecast)

Area
(thousand ha)
197.8
181.4
119.6
117.2
109.4
100.6
99.6
68.0
53.4
50.4
50.0

Yield
(ton/ha)
1.51
1.47
1.45
1.44
1.43
1.45
1.61
1.50
1.52

1.53
1.53

Production
(thousand ton)
298.6
266.5
173.7
168.3
156.5
146.3
160.7
101.9
81.3
76.9
76.0

(Source: Faostat, 2019; )

9


The soybean breeding program in Vietnam is currently conducted by 08
research institutions: Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology, Institute
of Agricultural Science and Technology, Southern Institute of Agricultural
Science and Technology, Cuu Long River Delta Rice Research Institute, Maize
Research Institute, Vietnam National University of Agriculture, Can Tho
University, and Institute of Oil Plants. From 1977 - 2010, 45 new soybean
varieties were registered.
In general, Vietnam's soybean area is not stable, domestic soybean

production is only enough to supply about 7–10% of demand. According to
statistics, Vietnam's soybean production in 2020 was 76 thousand tons on a
cultivated area of 50 thousand hectares and yield was 1.53 ton/ha.
Domestic production of soybeans only meets about 7% of domestic
demand, mainly to process soymilk and other foodstuffs, the remaining 93% is
imported, mostly for animal feed. It can be seen that the demand for soybean
products in Vietnam is enormous; but the planted area in Vietnam is decreasing
day by day. Therefore, it must be imported to meet processing needs.
According to the General Department of Customs (GCO), in the first 10
months of 2019, Vietnam imported 1459,389 tons of soybeans with a value of
579,917,084 USD. Sources of imported soybeans in Vietnam are mainly from the
US, Canada, Argentina, Paraguay, Uzbekistan, Cambodia, the Philippines, ...

2.4. Soybean research and breeding
2.4.1. Soybean research and breeding in the world
Soybean was introduced into the US during the 1700s and was grown
initially as a forage crop (Hymowitz 1998, 2004). It was only in the 1920s and
1930s that it was used as a grain crop. Early US plant breeders, mostly from the
Agricultural Experiment Stations of the states and the United States Department
10


of Agriculture (USDA), developed lodging and shattering-resistant varieties,
which were responsible for changing soybean from a forage crop to an oilseed
crop. Variety development remained largely with the USDA and Agricultural
Experiment Stations until 1970 when the Plant Variety Protection Act was
passed. Today, most of the variety development of soybean occurs in the private
sector. However, public sector breeders still have an important role. In addition
to variety development, public sector breeders place emphasis on germplasm
enhancement, breeding methodology and molecular technology development. In

the future, the productivity of modern agriculture will depend largely on the
ability of breeding to constantly adapt new varieties to charging environmental
conditions and management strategies.
Success of soybean breeding depends on genetic variation of germplasm
availability genetic variation, selection strategies and resource management.
Various crosses between different varieties or germplasm lines are often
attempted by breeding to generate increased genetic variation through gene
recombination and change of allele frequency in a breeding population in which
selection is exercised. Selection methods usually used are single- seed descent,
pedigree or combination of those two methods.
Plant breeding is a creative, necessary work to solve the problem of food
the present and the future in the context of shrinking arable land, population
growth and ever-changing demand. (Vu Dinh Hoa and Nguyen Van Giang
2012) The goals of soybean breeding are diverse, depending on the country and
region. For example, Thailand aims to create varieties that meet international
standards such as large seeds, finite growth and less reactive to photolytic
cycles, resistant to major diseases such as rust, morning mist, anthracnose, and
seeds. purple and bacterial acne (Srinives and Somta, 2011). In Australia,
breeders aim to maintain superior yield and agronomic traits, as well as quality
11


traits for the soy, tofu and dairy markets. The goal of soybean breeding in the
United States is to select varieties that are capable of intensive farming, reactive
to photolysis, are well tolerant to adverse external conditions, high protein
content, easy to preserve and processing (Johnson and Bernard 1962).
The origin of soybean was in China, but the United States was always the
world leader in soybean acreage and production. The US has adopted the
methods of selection and import, mutation and crossbreeding, they have created
new soybean varieties. High-yield imported lines are all used as materials in

breeding and selection programs. From the first experiment in America was
conducted in 1804 in the state of Pelecibuanhia, to 1893 in the US there were
more than 10,000 soybean seed samples collected from around the world. In the
period 1928 - 1932, the US imported over 1,190 lines from different countries
each year. Currently, more than 100 lines of soybean varieties have been put
into production, creating some varieties with good resistance to Phyzoctonia and
wide adaptability such as: Amsoy 71, Lee 36, Clark 63, Herkey 63. The main
part of research on breeding is to use hybrid combinations as well as imported,
domesticated to be adapted to each ecological region, especially imported to
supplement the genetic fund (Johnson and Bernard 1962).
In the world today, in countries with advanced industries, the latest
research on soybeans focuses on integrating the genome, making genetic maps
through which understanding gene functions, identifying genes candidate for
each trait and using molecular marker method to select and create new varieties
with desired properties (Miladinovicet al., 2015).
However, in Vietnam, for a long time, soybean breeding and breeding still
mainly used traditional methods, selected and created new varieties through
importing, crossbreeding and mutation. Combining the application of molecules

12


marlcers to improve specific traits have only recently been studied (Nguyen Van
Chuong et al. 2013).
2.4.2. Soybean research and breeding in Vietnam
Vietnam soybean breeding’s objectives are to create develop soybean
varieties which are of high yield potential and stability, strong growth, short
growth duration in time, high-quality seeds, tolerance to both biotic and abiotic
stresses such as drought-resistant, waterlogging, pests and diseases resistant.
Over the last 50 years, Vietnam has developed a number of soybean varieties

such as DT2001, VX93, M103, ĐT93, DT84, DT95, ĐVN 5HL 203, OMĐN
29, HL 07-15, OMĐN 25-20, DT2008, DT84...
According to Joint FAO/IAEA, the application of mutation techniques has
generated a vast amount of genetic variability and is playing a significant role in
plant breeding and genetics and advanced genomics studies. The widespread use
of mutation techniques in plant breeding programmes throughout the world has
generated thousands of novel crop varieties in hundreds of crop species, and
billions of dollars in additional revenue.
Mutation breeding has become the most successful field of application of
nuclear techniques in food and agriculture: more and more mutant crop varieties
have been released to farmers and make great contributions to local and national
food security. The outcome of the IAEA TCPs and CRPs has substantively
increased the capacity of Vietnam and further contributed to improved national
food security.
Vietnamese Government officials expressed their sincere expectation for
the extension of outcome based cooperation with the IAEA through the
integrated application of mutant crop varieties with good agricultural practices
(efficient soil and water management), which indeed shows a great potentiality:
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the IAEA, through the Joint FAO/IAEA Division, can continue to contribute to
improve national food security in order to achieve sustainable agricultural
production not only in the field of mutation breeding but also in other areas,
such as efficient soil and water management practices, livestock production and
the control of transboundary animal disease.
With support from the IAEA through TCPs and CRPs, 30 mutant varieties
were developed and released officially to farmers for their production, including
17 rice cultivars, 10 soybean varieties, two maize varieties and one
chrysanthemum variety. Most of these crop varieties are high yielding with

insect pest resistance, disease resistance/tolerance and high quality. More than
50% of the soybean cultivation area is covered by mutant varieties developed in
the Institute, which is contributing to oil crop production of Vietnam. The
application of modern biotechnology, such as tissue culture and molecular
marker-assisted-selection methodologies, are increasing the efficiency of
mutation breeding.
In the well organized and conducted trials of soybean mutant lines in the
Vietnamese experimental fields and production farms, several mutant lines are
well out-performing local control varieties. Based on the results of trials in the
past few years and their field performance, it is expected that more mutant
varieties will be released in the coming years.
From 1978 up to now, Vietnam has 40 soybean varieties officially and
temporarily recognized, the varieties introduced in the North through the
research work of many institutes and schools recently such as ĐVN5, DT2001,
DT2006, AK05, mutant soybean varieties such as DT96, DT84, DT10, DT26,
DT27 not only had high yield but also were drought-tolerant, and promoted well
in production (Pham Dong Quang et al. 2005; Nguyen Van Chuong et al. 2013).

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Vu Dinh Chinh and Dinh Thai Hoang (2010), when evaluating the
growth, development and yield of some Australian soybean varieties in the
summer-autumn crop in Gia Lam - Hanoi, 3 like Au10, Au4, Au3 hade the
highest and stable productivity. The average yield was 32.55 quintal/ha, 30.0
quintal/ha, and 29.45 quintal/ha, respectively, which was definitely higher than
the control DT84 at the significance level 0.005.
Within 20 years (1985 - 2005), scientists successfully selected and created
28 new varieties, of which 8 varieties were recognized for their technical
progress through selection from imported varieties such as: AK03, AK05, VX92, VX9-3, DT12, HL-203, HL-92.

Crossbreeding is a basic method for selecting and creating breeding
materials through the combination of beneficial traits and traits of parental types
into crossbreds. Soybean is a self-pollinating plant, so hybridization often has a
low success rate. However, there are many soybean varieties produced by this
method that have high yield and quality. In the period 1985 - 2005, breeders
successfully bred 15 varieties: DT80, DT92, DT93, DT96, etc recognized as
national varieties. Vu Dinh Chinh (1995) successfully bred soybean variety
D140 from the hybrid combination DL02 & DH4. ĐVN6 is a soybean variety
selected from a combination of a sexual hybrid between AK-03 and DT96.
When analyzing genetic diversity of soybeans by SSR markers, Trieu Thi
Thinh et al. (2010) stated that the highest similarity coefficient was found
between Dau Mien - Minh Tan, DT84 - K6844 and AU6 - 6666. Lowest
similarity coefficient was identified between Tuan Giao - Minh Tan.
Morphologically, these two cultivars were also relatively distinct. Tuan Giao has
white flowers, brown fruits, egg-shaped seeds, while Minh Tan has dark purple
flowers, black fruit, light brown hilum, elliptical seeds. Selective research and

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