Registration of ‘USDA‐N8002’ Soybean Cultivar with High Yield and Abiotic Stress Resistance Traits

‘USDA‐N8002’ (Reg. No. CV‐519, PI 676972) is a conventional maturity‐group (MG) VIII soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] cultivar developed and released by the USDA‐ARS in September 2015. USDA‐N8002 is the first North American MG VIII soybean cultivar exhibiting drought resistance and high yield potential. It is the first U.S. release derived from PI 471938 (25% by pedigree) and the second MG VIII release derived from PI 416937 (12.5% by pedigree). USDA‐N8002 exhibits slow or delayed canopy‐wilting, sustained N fixation during drought stress, and a water‐conserving transpiration response when exposed to atmospheric vapor pressure deficit. USDA‐N8002 is an F4–derived cultivar from a cross of USDA‐ARS cultivar N7002 and USDA‐ARS breeding line N98‐7265. USDA‐N8002 was yield tested in a total of 74 environments across the southeastern United States in the United Soybean Board Southern Soybean Diversity Yield Trials MGVII‐VIII (Diversity Trials), the USDA Uniform Soybean Tests– Southern States, Uniform Group VIII (Uniform Tests), and the North Carolina Official Variety Tests MG VII–VIII (NC‐OVT). USDA‐N8002 yielded 7% greater (p < 0.05) than the check cultivar N8001 in the Uniform Tests, 5% greater in the NC‐OVT (p < 0.05), and 5% greater in the Diversity Trials (p = 0.09). The diverse ancestry, drought resistance, and high yield potential of this release suggest it can provide new options for soybean breeding and production in the southeastern United States.