News

The data article “Phenotypic, carotenoid and SSR marker-band dataset for VNUA sweetpotato germplasm” is now published in Data in Brief. It describes an accession registry and screening records for 50 VNUA sweetpotato materials, replicated validation-stage records and carotenoid estimates for 26 genotypes, and SSR marker-band profiles from ten microsatellite markers. The workbook is openly available on Mendeley Data.

The article “Genotypic variation and root traits associated with hypoxia tolerance in quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.)” is now published in PLOS ONE. The study evaluates hypoxia responses across 28 quinoa genotypes and reports root traits associated with tolerance and individual seed yield. Read the article.

The article “Phenotypic, carotenoid and SSR marker-band dataset for VNUA sweetpotato germplasm” was accepted for publication in Data in Brief on 2 November 2026 and received for production that day. The paper reports phenotypic, carotenoid and SSR marker-band data for VNUA sweetpotato germplasm.

A Vietnamese-language paper with an English abstract evaluated 30 newly collected taro accessions and the check variety KS5 for 14 quantitative traits, taro leaf blight resistance and six quality traits. Selection with the MGIDI index at 20% selection pressure identified five accessions (KSV13, KSV16, KSV3, KSV28 and KSV8) with high yield (18.49–19.58 t/ha) and leaf blight resistance, as breeding material for northern Vietnam.

A Vietnamese-language paper with an English abstract tested five nitrogen rates and five planting densities on VNUA38, an anthocyanin-rich cherry tomato bred at VNUA, in two seasons at Gia Lam, Hanoi. Treatment P4M3 (170 kg N/ha, 70 × 50 cm) gave the highest harvested yield in both seasons (27.31 and 23.46 t/ha), and total anthocyanin content stayed at 4.66–4.75 mg/100 g fresh weight across treatments.

A Vietnamese-language paper on how nitrogen rate and planting density affect the fruit yield and quality of VNUA38, an anthocyanin-rich cherry tomato bred at VNUA, has been accepted by Vietnam Journal of Agricultural Sciences.

A paper on genotypic variation in hypoxia tolerance among quinoa genotypes and the root traits associated with it, with co-authors at VNUA and the University of Buenos Aires, has been judged suitable for publication by PLOS ONE. Formal acceptance follows the journal’s technical checks.

The fresh-eating sweet corn hybrid FC369 is granted plant-variety protection for 20 years, held by the Institute of Biology and Agricultural Technology, Vietnam National University of Agriculture.

A paper from the Ph.D. research at Kyushu University maps coffee production systems in Dak Lak, Vietnam, from multi-sensor remote-sensing data with an interpretable Random Forest model. Under spatial block cross-validation with 10–20 km blocks, the macro F1-score for the three coffee classes was 0.141–0.374, compared with 0.909 under stratified cross-validation within the sampled landscapes.

The review assesses which AI, marker and quantitative-genetics methods have been shown to work in hexaploid, clonally propagated sweetpotato. It proposes a staged roadmap that begins with phenotypic selection indices and later pilots dosage-aware genomic prediction. An R implementation of the roadmap’s genomic-selection pipeline, tested so far on a simulated population, is released as open code with an archived DOI.

A Vietnamese-language paper on the agronomic traits and genetic diversity of newly collected taro accessions has been accepted by Vietnam Journal of Agricultural Sciences.

A Vietnamese-language review of the genetic basis and breeding strategies for bicolor supersweet corn has been accepted by Vietnam Journal of Agricultural Sciences.

The study evaluated 30 white-, purple- and black-kernel supersweet maize inbred lines and 30 testcrosses made from 15 of them. Soluble solids, pericarp thickness and anthocyanin content were mainly under additive gene action, whereas fresh ear yield depended mainly on dominance effects. One elite parent was identified for each kernel color: Wh24 (white), P19 (purple) and B14 (black).

VNUA168, a fresh-eating sweet corn hybrid with purple-tinted kernels, marketed as “Fruit Corn 168”, is officially recognized for circulation.

FC369, a milky-white sweet corn hybrid marketed as “Snow White”, and MH81 (VNUA81), a white waxy-sweet corn hybrid, are officially recognized for circulation.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment approved a ministry-level task to breed high-quality mini waxy corn for northern Vietnam. VNUA is the host institution and Vu Thi Xuan Binh the project leader; Nguyen Trung Duc is a team member. The task runs for 60 months from contract signing, starting in 2027.

The review treats predictive plant improvement as a breeding digital-twin problem and uses sweet corn as a test case.

Poster presentation at the Kyushu University Forum in Vietnam, hosted by Q-AOS and co-organized with Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry, with support from the Vietnam Association of Kyushu University Alumni.

The white waxy-sweet corn hybrid MH81 (VNUA81) is granted plant-variety protection.

The poster “Integrating Multi-Sensor Remote Sensing and Machine Learning for Coffee Production Mapping in the Dak Lak Region, Vietnam” received the Poster Presentation Award (Grand Award).

Best Presentation Award at the 12th Western Japan Research Meeting of the Japan Society for International Development.

The fresh-eating sweet corn hybrid VNUA168 is granted plant-variety protection.

The purple waxy corn hybrid VNUA191 is granted plant-variety protection. In trials of 25 crosses in 2021, it was one of two hybrids selected with the MGIDI multi-trait index.

The study imaged 300 rice genotypes grown under sufficient and deficient nitrogen. Machine-learning models predicted biomass-based nitrogen use efficiency (NUEb) from the images without destructive sampling, and three donor genotypes (IC463705, Suweon and Cauvery) were identified.

The review covers recent advances in high-throughput phenotyping of nitrogen-use-efficiency traits in rice, in controlled environments and in the field, and how these data help identify QTLs and genes linked to improved nitrogen use efficiency.

Certified as an Advanced Teaching Assistant after completing teaching-assistant basic training and core academic-skills training.

The anthocyanin-rich purple waxy corn hybrid VNUA141 is officially recognized for circulation.

Best Presentation Award for the talk “Breeding innovation for vegetable and forage maize research in Vietnam: The progress and future perspective”.

Best Poster Award in the thematic area “Genomics & Phenomics Assisted Crop Improvement”, for a poster by Nguyen Trung Duc and ten co-authors from ICAR-IARI, New Delhi.

Best Poster Award in the thematic area “Abiotic Stress: Adaptations and Management”, for a poster by N.T. Duc, D. Raju, S. Kumar, R.R. Kumar and V. Chinnusamy (IARI, New Delhi).