Genetic variations of 179 rice (Oryza sativa L.) accessions from Cambodia were clarified based on the analyses for heading date, chromosome components, and blast resistance. The dominant accessions were found in three regions; early heading in North East (NE), medium in Central (CT), and late in South East (SE) along the Mekong River in the investigation at Ishigaki, Japan. In contrast, wide variations were observed in two regions, South West (SW) and North West (NW) located around Tonle Sap Lake. Polymorphism data of SSR markers showed that accessions were classified into Japonica Group (cluster Ib), and Indica Groups (IIa and IIb). In the NW and SW, the accessions of all three clusters were found, but these accessions in NE, CT, and SE, were limited to one or two clusters. Accessions were classified again into two clusters, A1 as having high resistance and A2 as having moderate resistance. Remarkable differences of these frequencies of clusters, A1 and A2, were found in the SE, SW, and NW, and similar with these of the whole accessions were in NE and CT. Rice accessions varied among the five regions, and there was a dramatic difference between the regions along Mekong River and the regions around Tonle Sap Lake.To find new QTLs responsible for kernel cracking resistance, we screened 50 CSSLs derived from the moderately resistant cultivar 'Itadaki' (O. sativa L.) and the donor O. rufipogon. Two lines, IRSL 30 and IRSL 37, were selected as resistant. QTL analyses of the percentage of cracked kernels (PCK) in F4 individuals derived from "Itadaki/IRSL 30" and "Itadaki/IRSL 37" identified a major QTL, qCR (Cracking Resistance) 8-2, at the same position on chromosome 8 in both populations. 'IRSL 30' and 'IRSL 37' had a reduced PCK. These results show that qCR8-2 is likely to be an important QTL for kernel cracking resistance. Both lines had long awns, linked to qCR8-2, but the awnless line 'Chukei 19301' was also derived from "Itadaki/IRSL 37", so qCR8-2 is distinct from the gene for awn development. We consider that qCR8-2 will help in the breeding of new rice cultivars with high cracking resistance and in elucidating the physiological mechanism of kernel cracking.Agricultural expansion requires the deployment of stress-tolerant crops like safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.). In safflower breeding, oil improvement in early generations requires indirect selection through simply inherited traits. The oil quality is mostly related to the fatty acid profile, which is determined by the OL locus. The aim of this research was to identify simple easy-to-measure traits that indirectly explain oil content variation and its interaction with yield components, and also to generate an effective tool for genotyping the OL locus. A field experiment with F5 and pure lines was carried out to correlate the oil content with 18 traits including yield components, and phenological and morphological characteristics. KASP technology using primers designed according to the ctFAD2-1 gene sequence was applied for OL locus genotyping and validated through fatty acids phenotyping. Hull content, the lengthwidth ratio of the grain, and plant height were identified as the most promising selection tools for increasing oil content, and grains per capitulum was the best yield component for increasing yield without decreasing the oil content. KASP genotyping successfully worked as a MAS tool, identifying oleic and linoleic genotypes. These tools enhance options for improving oil content and quality for safflower breeding.Paw San Hmwe (PSH) is a high-quality rice cultivar from Myanmar. PSH has short and broad grains, but the grains become slender after cooking. This desirable feature can be described as a high value of grain length-breadth relative expansion index (GREI). To understand the genetic basis of high GREI in PSH, we crossed PSH with Guang 8B (G8B), a rice cultivar from China with low GREI, to develop an F2 population and a subsequent F23 population. Based on the phenotypes of these two populations measured in two years and using the method of sequencing-based bulked segregant analysis followed by verification with conventional linkage-based QTL mapping method, we mapped three QTLs for GREI. The three QTLs were located on chromosomes 3, 5 and 12, respectively, with the trait-increasing alleles all from PSH, and could explain a total of 62.5% of the phenotypic variance and 84.1% of the additive genetic variance. The results suggest that the three QTLs would be useful for the genetic improvement of GREI in rice, and the linked markers will facilitate the selection of the favorable alleles from PSH in breeding.Walnut is an important cultivated tree with high economic value and wide distribution across China. The objective was to breed a new walnut cultivar with high yield and desirable nut and tree qualities that could meet the demands of the walnut industry in China. 'Liaoning 4' walnut cultivar is lateral bearing which originated from a controlled cross between the Persian walnut (J. regia) selections 'Liaoning Chaoyang big and rough walnut' and '11001'. https://www.selleckchem.com/products/ps-1145.html During long term assessment and research, 'Liaoning 4' walnut performed well and it was released as a new cultivar in China on 15 Oct. 2018. It has a high yield and excellent nut traits and has thus been widely planted in North China.Carrot is among the top-ten most economically important vegetable crops in the world. However, the gene pool of cultivated carrot is narrow and the collection and preservation of carrot germplasm are very limited in China. In this study, seeds of carrot inbred line "17005" were treated by ethyl methyl sulfone (EMS) to construct a mutant library. The conditions of EMS mutagenesis on inbred line "17005" were optimized, including treatment of seeds at 0.5% EMS for 6 h. We obtained a number of mutant lines showing inheritable morphological mutations in cotyledon, growth point, leaf, taproot in the vegetative phase and mutations in bolting time, primary stem height and color, secondary branch, flower and seed in the reproductive phase through M2 and M3. The F2 segregating population from the cross of yellow taproot and purple-red epidermis taproot with wild type showed that these two mutants were controlled by single recessive gene respectively. The inheritable mutants can not only enrich the carrot germplasm, but also provide resources for the function research of carrot gene.