Organic Crop Breeding

Organic Crop Breeding provides valuable insight for crop breeders, geneticist, crop science professionals, researchers, and advanced students in this quickly emerging field.

Contributors xiii

Foreword xix
William F. Tracy

Preface xxi
Edith T. Lammerts van Bueren and James R. Myers

Acknowledgments xxiii

Section 1 General Topics Related to Organic Plant Breeding 1

Chapter 1 Organic Crop Breeding: Integrating Organic Agricultural Approaches and Traditional and Modern Plant Breeding Methods 3
Edith T. Lammerts van Bueren and James R. Myers

Introduction 3

How Different Are Organic Farming Systems? 4

Consequences for Cultivar Requirements 5

From Cultivar Evaluation to Organic Seed Production and Plant Breeding Programs 6

The History of Organic Crop Breeding in Europe and the United States 8

Perspectives and Challenges for Breeding for Organic Agriculture 11

Conclusion 12

References 12

Chapter 2 Nutrient Management in Organic Farming and Consequences for Direct and Indirect Selection Strategies 15
Monika Messmer, Isabell Hildermann, Kristian Thorup-Kristensen, and Zed Rengel

Introduction 15

Availability of Nutrients in Organic Farming 16

Roots: The Hidden Potential 17

Even Greater Complexity: Plant-Microbe-Soil Interactions 21

Importance of Selection Environments 27

Breeding Strategies 30

References 32

Chapter 3 Pest and Disease Management in Organic Farming: Implications and Inspirations for Plant Breeding 39
Thomas F. Döring, Marco Pautasso, Martin S. Wolfe and Maria R. Finckh

Introduction 39

Plant Protection in Organic Farming 42

Key Target Areas of Plant Breeding for Organic Plant Protection 46

Breeding Goals for Ecological Plant Protection 49

Plant Breeding Approaches Directly Targeting Pests or Diseases 50

Plant Breeding Approaches with Indirect Effects on Plant Health 53

Discussion and Conclusions 54

References 55

Chapter 4 Approaches to Breed for Improved Weed Suppression in Organically Grown Cereals 61
Steve P. Hoad, Nils-Øve Bertholdsson, Daniel Neuhoff and Ulrich Köpke Background 61

Crop Competitiveness against Weeds 62

Crop Traits Involved in Weed Suppression 63

Selection of Traits and Their Evaluation in Plant Breeding Programs 64

Selection Strategies 68

Understanding Crop-Weed Interactions to Assist Plant Breeding 70

Concluding Remarks and Wider Perspectives 71

References 72

Chapter 5 Breeding for Genetically Diverse Populations: Variety Mixtures and Evolutionary Populations 77
Julie C. Dawson and Isabelle Goldringer

Introduction 77

Benefits of Genetic Diversity for Organic Agriculture 79

On-Farm Conservation of Useful Genetic Diversity 80

Breeding Strategies 81

Conclusion 94

References 94

Chapter 6 Centralized or Decentralized Breeding: The Potentials of Participatory Approaches for Low-Input and Organic Agriculture 99
Dominique Desclaux, Salvatore Ceccarelli, John Navazio, Micaela Coley,Gilles Trouche, Silvio Aguirre, Eva Weltzien, and Jacques Lançon

Introduction 99

Centralized and Decentralized Breeding: Definitions 100

What Can Be Decentralized in Breeding and Why? 100

Participatory Approaches 102

PPB: A Single Term Yielding Different Approaches 102

Some Examples of PPB for Organic and Low Input Agriculture in Southern Countries 106

Some Examples of PPB for Organic and Low Input Agriculture in Northern Countries 113

General Conclusions and Limits of PPB Approaches in Organic Farming 119

References 120

Chapter 7 Values and Principles in Organic Farming and Consequences for Breeding Approaches and Techniques 125
Klaus P. Wilbois, Brian Baker, Maaike Raaijmakers and Edith T. Lammerts van Bueren

Introduction 125

Arguments against Genetic Engineering 126

Organic Basic Principles 127

Toward Organic Breeding 130

From Values to Criteria: Evaluation of Breeding Techniques 131

How to Deal with Varieties Bred with Non-compliant Techniques? 132

Toward Appropriate Standards to Promote Organic Plant Breeding 135

Discussion and Challenges for Organic Plant Breeding 136

References 136

Chapter 8 Plant Breeding, Variety Release, and Seed Commercialization: Laws and Policies Applied to the Organic Sector 139
Véronique Chable, Niels Louwaars, Kristina Hubbard, Brian Baker, and Riccardo Bocci

Introduction 139

The Developments of Plant Breeding and the Emergence of Seed Laws 139

Variety Registration 142

Seed Quality Control and Certification 144

Special Needs for Organic Agriculture 146

A Recent Development in Europe: Conservation Varieties 148

Intellectual Property Rights and Plant Breeding 151

Discussion 154

Conclusions 156

Notes 156

References 157

Section 2 Organic Plant Breeding in Specific Crops 161

Chapter 9 Wheat: Breeding for Organic Farming Systems 163
Matt Arterburn, Kevin Murphy, and Steve S. Jones

Introduction 163

Methods 163

Traits for Selection in Organic Breeding Programs 168

A Case Study for EPB: Lexi’s Project 170

A Case Study for Breeding within a Supply Chain Approach: Peter Kunz and Sativa 171

Conclusion 171

References 172

Chapter 10 Maize: Breeding and Field Testing for Organic Farmers 175
Walter A. Goldstein, Walter Schmidt, Henriette Burger, Monika Messmer, Linda M. Pollak, Margaret E. Smith, Major M. Goodman, Frank J. Kutka and Richard C. Pratt

Introduction 175

What Kind of Maize do Organic Farmers Want? 175

Are There Viable Alternatives to Single Cross Hybrids? 176

Testing and Using Alternative Hybrids 178

Are There Benefits for Breeding under Organic Conditions? 178

For Which Traits Is It Necessary to Test under Organic Conditions? 179

Choice of Parents for Breeding Programs 181

Breeding Programs 182

Future Directions 186

Notes 186

References 188

Chapter 11 Rice: Crop Breeding Using Farmer-Led Participatory Plant Breeding 191
Charito P. Medina

Introduction 191

MASIPAG and Participatory Rice Breeding 192

Beyond PPB: Farmer-Led Rice Breeding 193

The Breeding Process 194

Outcomes of the MASIPAG Program 198

Outlook 200

References 201

Chapter 12 Soybean: Breeding for Organic Farming Systems 203
Johann Vollmann and Michelle Menken

Introduction 203

Agronomic Characters 204

Seed Quality Features 208

Considerations on Breeding Methods 211

References 212

Chapter 13 Faba Bean: Breeding for Organic Farming Systems 215
Wolfgang Link and Lamiae Ghaouti

Purposes of Breeding and Growing Faba Bean 215

Genetic and Botanical Basics of Breeding Faba Bean 216

Methodological Considerations 218

Traits to Be Improved in Faba Bean Breeding 221

Open Questions, Need for Action 223

References 224

Chapter 14 Potato: Perspectives to Breed for an Organic Crop Ideotype 227
Marjolein Tiemens-Hulscher, Edith T. Lammerts van Bueren and Ronald C.B. Hutten

Introduction 227

Required Cultivar Characteristics 228

Introgression Breeding and Applied Techniques 232

Participatory Approach: An Example from the Netherlands 233

Outlook 234

References 234

Chapter 15 Tomato: Breeding for Improved Disease Resistance in Fresh Market and Home Garden Varieties 239
Bernd Horneburg and James R. Myers

Introduction 239

Botanical and Genetic Characteristics of Tomato 240

Rationale for Breeding Tomatoes within Organic Systems 240

Breeding Needs with Focus on Organic Production 243

Case Studies: Breeding for Late Blight Resistance in Europe and North America 245

Outlook 247

References 248

Chapter 16 Brassicas: Breeding Cole Crops for Organic Agriculture 251
James R. Myers, Laurie McKenzie, and Roeland E. Voorrips

Introduction 251

Rationale for Breeding within Organic Systems 251

Plant Biology 252

Traits Needed for Adaptation to Organic Production 253

Consideration of Breeding Methods 257

A Farmer Participatory Broccoli Breeding Program 258

Outlook 260

References 261

Chapter 17 Onions: Breeding Onions for Low-Input and Organic Agriculture 263
Olga E. Scholten and Thomas W. Kuyper

Introduction 263

Robust Onion Cultivars 264

Breeding for Improved Nutrient Acquisition 265

Mycorrhizal Symbiosis and Product Quality 269

Conclusion 270

References 271

Index 273

James R. Myers is the Baggett-Frazier Professor of Vegetable Breeding and Genetics in the Department of Horticulture at Oregon State University.