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Cultivar · Soybean cultivar

Lee

Lee is a public soybean cultivar released by the USDA in 1954 from the cross S-100 × CNS. A Maturity Group VI type bred for the southern United States, it was valued for disease resistance and became a foundational parent for southern U.S. and Brazilian breeding.

Dated referenceLast reviewed: 2026-07-12Updated: 2026-07-12
Illustrative diagram · AgricultureID (original)

Record

Cultivar / variety
Variety of
Soybean
Botanical taxon
Glycine max
Type
Cultivar (self-pollinated pure line)
Breeding method
Cross-breeding and pure-line selection
Origin
Southern United States, United States
Released
1954
Breeder / institution
USDA U.S. Regional Soybean Laboratory (developed by E. E. Hartwig)
Registry status
Historical
Registries
  • USDA GRIN · United States · as of 2026-07-12Lee is maintained in the USDA Soybean Germplasm Collection; specific accession identifiers are not reproduced here.
Adaptation
Maturity Group VI, historically adapted to the southern United States; maturity-group adaptation ties flowering and maturity to day length and latitude.
Intended use
Grain and oilseed soybean production in the southern United States (historical), Foundation parent for southern U.S. and Brazilian soybean breeding, Source of bacterial pustule resistance in breeding
Disease resistance
  • Historically characterized as resistant to bacterial pustule (Xanthomonas) through the Rxp gene inherited from its ancestor CNS. Disease reaction is pathogen- and environment-specific.

Source-attributed claims for specific conditions; resistance can break down and is not a guarantee under all pathogen populations or environments.

Registry listing or variety protection is jurisdiction- and date-specific and does not by itself indicate current commercial availability, universal cultivation approval, patent status, or a recommendation.

Lee is a public soybean cultivar developed by the USDA’s U.S. Regional Soybean Laboratory and released in 1954. It was selected from the cross of the lines S-100 and CNS and is a Maturity Group VI type adapted to the southern United States.

Lee was influential as a disease-resistant southern cultivar and became a widely used parent in soybean breeding programs in the southern United States and Brazil. Many later southern cultivars carry Lee in their pedigrees.

Development

Lee was selected from the cross S-100 × CNS and released in 1954 by the USDA’s U.S. Regional Soybean Laboratory, whose southern breeding work was led by Edgar E. Hartwig. It was developed for the disease pressures and long growing season of the southern United States and classified in Maturity Group VI.

Disease reaction and legacy

Lee was regarded as a disease-resistant cultivar for the South and is documented as carrying resistance to bacterial pustule (Xanthomonas), conferred by the Rxp gene inherited from its ancestor CNS. Its adaptation and disease resistance made it a heavily used parent, and it appears in the ancestry of many later cultivars in the southern United States and in Brazil.

Scope & limitations

Geographic scope: Developed by the USDA for the southern United States; used as a breeding parent in the U.S. South and Brazil.

Climate context: Maturity Group VI soybean; maturity-group adaptation is latitude- and day-length-dependent.

  • Lee is a historical public cultivar largely superseded for commercial production; agronomic performance is environment-specific.
  • Documented disease resistance reflects historical characterization against particular pathogens and populations and is not a guarantee of resistance under all conditions.

Sources

This article draws on the following authoritative sources. See our sources & methodology for how they are selected.

  1. [1]GRIN-Global / National Plant Germplasm System (opens in a new tab)

    USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS)

    Authoritative

    Cited for: Maintenance of Lee in the USDA Soybean Germplasm Collection

    Type:
    Official registry
    Jurisdiction:
    United States / Global
    Accessed:
    2026-07-12
  2. [2]USDA ARS — Agricultural Research Service (opens in a new tab)

    USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS)

    Authoritative

    Cited for: Release, parentage, and disease resistance of the Lee soybean cultivar

    Type:
    Government agency
    Jurisdiction:
    United States
    Accessed:
    2026-07-12

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