Rafael Marmo, a U of A Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Science's master's degree student, won a recent national poster presentation competition at the 2024 National Association of Plant Breeders annual conference.

Marmo's presentation was "Optimizing Seed Composition and Grain Yield Stability in Soybean Breeding: Insights from Multi-Environment Trials."

Marmo is a first-year graduate student, and his work focuses on understanding the relationship between complex traits and soybean grain yield stability across different environments and stages of the breeding pipeline. Throughout the years, breeding efforts to develop high-yielding soybean cultivars have often resulted in subpar seed composition due to a strong negative correlation between grain yield and seed protein content. Breeders are now striving to develop soybean cultivars with improved seed composition and highly stable performance within their target environments.

Preliminary research revealed significant correlations between seed composition and stability measurements, indicating variable seed composition may affect soybean grain yield stability across environments. Although a negative relationship exists between grain yield and seed protein content, his preliminary findings suggest breeding strategies can support the development of highly stable performing genotypes with optimal seed composition. His current work focuses on identifying genomic regions associated with grain yield stability and implement genomic prediction models that leverage the genetic correlation of multiple traits linked to grain yield stability.

Marmo is advised by Caio Canella Vieira, assistant professor of soybean breeding in the Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences. Vieira is a member of the faculty, as well as a researcher and scientist with the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, the research arm of the U of A System Division of Agriculture.

"Rafael joined our soybean breeding program in 2023 and has since made significant contributions across the program," Vieira says. "He is a highly motivated and hard-working student, and it has been a true joy to watch him grow personally and professionally. Rafael's dedication and passion for his work have set him apart, and we are proud of him for receiving this award. He is truly deserving of this recognition, and we look forward to seeing his continued success in the future."

According to Vieira, results of Marmo's research can benefit public, private and government breeding programs by strategically identifying traits or genomic regions that provide greater soybean grain yield stability. It helps breeding programs identify stable genotypes early in the breeding pipeline. Developing lines with highly stable performance empowers U.S. farmers to maintain consistent yields across different environments, reducing risks associated with variable conditions. Improved seed composition ensures soybeans meet market demands for nutritional content, offering opportunities to enter high-value markets with premium prices for enhanced seed composition.

The Arkansas Soybean Breeding program develops and releases conventional and herbicide-resistant soybean cultivars tailored to the needs of Arkansas growers. Activities include the development of high-yielding commodity and specialty soybean varieties, conducting research on genetic tolerance to yield-limiting biotic and abiotic stressors, improved seed composition, and novel breeding methodologies; and mentoring and training undergraduate and graduate students in the art and science of plant breeding.

The conference was held in July in St. Louis. NAPB has a diverse membership of public and private sector scientists working to improve a wide variety of plants and graduate students working toward advanced degrees in plant breeding.

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About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture. For more information about Bumpers College, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter at @BumpersCollege and Instagram at BumpersCollege.

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas' flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $2.2 billion to Arkansas' economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the few U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research and Economic Development News.