Development of new cultivars to support Japanese agriculture
The Institute of Crop Science, NARO (NICS) is the core institute of the National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO) addressing various issues facing Japanese agriculture through the development of new crop cultivars and the establishment of basic technologies to achieve this goal. So far, NARO has developed and released many crop cultivars which are now widely cultivated. However, recent developments in crop improvement methods using DNA markers and advances in genome analysis has greatly accelerated many breeding strategies. We will use these promising technologies to elucidates the relationship between the genes involved and their biological functions towards the advancement of breeding methods, development of new breeding materials and novel cultivars, and eventually establish a continuous pathway from genomics to actual breeding of rice, wheat, barley, soybean and other crops.
NICS and Cultivar Development
| Year | History | Principal outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 1893 | National Agricultural Experiment Station was established in Tokyo | |
| 1924 | Satellite experiment field was opened in Saitama prefecture. | |
| 1950 | Translocated to Saitama prefecture and reconstracted to National Agricultural Experiment Station for Kanto area | |
| 1960 | Breeding of a high yield rice cultivar "Kusabue" | |
| 1960 | Breeding of a cultivar "Tamayutaka" for steamed and dried sweet potate | |
| 1961 | Reconstracted to National Agricultural Experiment Station | |
| 1966 | Development of virus-free crops | |
| 1969 | Breeding of a cultivar "Kashimamugi" for roasted barley tea | |
| 1973 | Breeding of a good-taste rice cultivar "Nihonmasari" | |
| 1981 | Translocated to Tsukuba area and Renamed to National Agriculture Research Center | |
| 1985 | Breeding of a good taste sweet popate cultivar "Beniazuma" | |
| 1987 | Development of a method for haploid wheat production | |
| 1995 | Breeding of a low amylose content and good taste rice cultivar "Milky Queen" | |
| 1999 | Breeding of a wheat cultivar "Ayahikari" for Japanese noodles | |
| 2001 | National Agricultural Research Organization was established. Institute of Crop Science was one of the NARO Institutions.* | |
| 2001 | Breeding of a sweet potate cultivar "Quick Sweet" suitable for microwave cooking | |
| 2001 | Breeding of a purple sweet potate cultivar "Purple Sweet Lord" | |
| 2001 | Breeding of a high lignan content sesami cultivar "Gomazou" | |
| 2002 | Breeding of a wheat cultivar "Tamaizumi" for Chenese noodles | |
| 2004 | Cultivation of genetic modified and high tryptophan content rice in a secruded field | |
| 2005 | Publication of databease for Japanese rice cultivars | |
| 2006 | Reorganised to National Agricultural and Food Research Organization | |
| 2007 | Breeding of an animal feed rice cautivar "Momiroman" | |
| 2007 | Breeding of a wheat cultivar "Yumeshihou" for bread making | |
| 2007 | Breeding of a partially allergen-less soybean cultivar | |
| 2008 | Breeding of good taste and high yield rice cultivar "Akidawara" | |
| 2009 | Publication of soybean proteome database | |
| 2009 | Development of near isogenic soybean lines with pod shattering resisitance using a DNA marker | |
| 2010 | Breeding of a virus-resistant cultivar "Kashima Goal" for roasted barley tea | |
| 2010 | Improved method for high loaf volume of brown rice bread | |
| 2011 | Development of a DNA marker for control of wheat germination |
*: National Agriculture Research Center was divided to NARO Agricultural Research Center and NARO Institute of Crop Science.
