Aluminum toxicity Tolerance Breeding in Indonesian Soybeans

Aluminum toxicity limits crop production in Indonesia. At soil pH below 5, predominance of Al³⁺ causes inhibition of root cell division and root penetration ability thus decreasing plant productivity. Soybean, an important crop in Indonesia is severely affected by aluminum toxicity. Development of soybean with tolerance to aluminum toxicity is being studied at  the Indonesian Center for Agricultural Biotechnology and Genetic Resources Research and Development. Using DNA markers (SSRs), tolerant lines selected from the F1s of crosses between tolerant and sensitive plants were identified. Continued selection and breeding resulted in the development of four F2 populations, where two selected populations demonstrated high transgresiveness to three agronomically important traits. This molecular breeding strategy is thus very useful for soybean breeders and can be applied to other agronomic characters as well.

For more details of the research visit http://biogen.litbang.deptan.go.id/. For information on biotechnology in Indonesia contact Dewi Suryani at dewisuryani@biotrop.org.