Breeding and Agronomic Evaluation of Jilv 20, a New Mungbean (Vigna radiata L.) Cultivar

Mungbean (Vigna radiata L.), one of the most widely grown edible legumes in Asia, plays important roles in the improvement of agricultural cultivation systems as well as human diets. As an understudied crop, however, most mungbean varieties are characterized by unstable yields, poor disease resistance, and unsuitability for mechanical harvesting, thereby leading to a low production income. We, therefore, developed Jilv 20, a new mungbean cultivar with a dull seed coat, by crossing Bao 942-34 with Weilv 9002-341. After 11 years of selection and evaluation, Jilv 20 has shown wide adaptability, early maturity, high yield, halo blight resistance, and suitability for mechanical harvesting. The growth period of Jilv 20 is 79.5 and 66.7 days in the spring and summer sowing seasons, respectively, and the average plant height is approximately 56.4 cm. In this study, average yields were 1737.9, 1532.3, and 2045.1 kg/hm2 in northern spring-sowing, northern summer-sowing, and southern sites, respectively; these values were respectively 27.83%, 28.48%, and 6.96% higher than those of control cultivar Zhonglv 5, which has been popular in past decades because of its wide adaptability. The average protein and starch contents of Jilv 20 seeds were 25.0% and 49.56%, respectively. Further application and extension of Jilv 20 in China should contribute to mungbean production, breeding, and industrial development.