New Korean Ginseng Cultivar ‘Cheonmyeong’ with High Yield and Rusty Root Tolerance

In 2008, a new Panax ginseng (ginseng) cultivar, 'Cheonmyeong', was bred by pure-line selection for tolerance to physiological disorders using a genetic resource collected from the farm race field, Buyeo, Chungnam, Korea. In 2019, 'Cheonmyeong' was registered as a new breed by the Korea Seed and Varieties Service (grant number 7467) and accorded plant breeders' rights. 'Cheonmyeong' has a yellowish orange pericarp, which has not been previously reported. 'Cheonmyeong' sprouted and flowered 2 days earlier than the control cultivar 'Chunpoong', and its fruit-ripening period occurred 3 days earlier. 'Cheonmyeong' had 1.5-fold more stems per plant than 'Chunpoong'. 'Cheonmyeong' plants were characterized by a lower occurrence of rusty root disease, and had approximately 28% higher 4-year-old root yields (571.8 +/- 99.7 kg.10a(-1)) than those of the rusty root-tolerant 'Chunpoong' (444.1 +/- 110.4 kg.10a(-1)). The total ginsenoside content of 'Cheonmyeong' (31.70 +/- 1.83 mg.g(-1)) was higher than that of 'Chunpoong' (26.62 +/- 1.60 mg.g(-1)). Concentrations of the ginsenosides Rg1 (which improves human memory and learning), Rf (which is effective for neuronal oscillation), and Rc (which has anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects) were higher in 'Cheonmyeong' than in 'Chunpoong'. 'Cheonmyeong' is likely to have strong tolerance against physiological disorders, ensuring reliable production of ginseng, even in response to changes in the cultivation environment.