Should spring wheat breeding for organically managed systems be conducted on organically managed land?

Todd A. Reid¹, Rong-Cai Yang¹, Donald F. Salmon² and D. Spaner¹

Abstract
Organic spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) producers in the northern Great Plains use cultivars which have been bred for conventional management systems or heritage cultivars released before the widespread use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.

To investigate the feasibility of organic wheat breeding and to determine common genetic parameters for each system, we used a random population of 79 F6-derived recombinant inbred sister lines from a cross between the Canadian hard red spring wheat cultivar AC Barrie and the CIMMYT derived cultivar Attila. The population, including the parents, was grown on conventionally and organically managed land for 3 years.

Heritability estimates differed between systems for 6 of the 14 traits measured, including spikes m^-2, plant height, test weight, 1,000 kernel weight, grain protein, and days to anthesis. Direct selection in each management system (10% selection intensity) resulted in 50% or fewer lines selected in common for nine traits, including grain yield, grain protein, spikes m^-2, and grain fill duration.

The results of this study suggest that indirect selection (in conventionally managed trials) of spring wheat destined for organically managed production would not result in the advance of the best possible lines in a breeding program. This implies that breeding spring wheat specific to organic agriculture should be conducted on organically managed land.

Source
Euphytica (2009) 169: 239-252


Author Locations & Affiliations
(1) Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2P5, Canada
(2) Alberta Agriculture, Food, and Rural Development, Field Crop Development Centre, Lacombe, AB, T4L 1W8, Canada


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Posted January 2010