Toward a 'Green Revolution' for Soybean.

In the last several decades, benefiting from the 'green revolution', considerable progress has been made on boosting the yield increases in the three staple food crops: rice, wheat, and maize. Soybean (Glycine max) is an important economic crop, which is one of the major sources of plant proteins and oils. However, soybean yield has not been increased significantly compared with the three staple food crops. There is an increasing demand for soybean production nowadays. Owing to the rapid development of crop breeding technologies, it is time to think of a 'green revolution' in soybean. Here, we briefly summarize the history of crop breeding and 'green revolutions' in other crops. We then discuss the possible directions and potential approaches toward achieving a 'green revolution' in soybean. Collectively, we provide views and perspectives on breeding new soybean varieties that may promote soybean production.