15 research outputs found
Efficacy of integrated fertilizer management to improve agronomic and physiological traits of canola cultivars
Fertilisation and weed control effects on yield and weeds in durum wheat grown under rain-fed conditions in a Mediterranean climate
Cuscuta spp: âParasitic Plants in the Spotlight of Plant Physiology, Economy and Ecologyâ
Genome-wide microarray analysis leads to identification of genes in response to herbicide, metribuzin in wheat leaves
Patient-safety indicators: a systematic review, criteria-based characterization and prioritization
QTLs associated with agronomic traits in the Attila Ă CDC Go spring wheat population evaluated under conventional management
Effects of region, demography, and protection from fishing on batch fecundity of common coral trout (Plectropomus leopardus)
Developments in breeding cereals for organic agriculture
The need for increased sustainability of performance in cereal varieties, particularly in organic agriculture (OA), is limited by the lack of varieties adapted to organic conditions. Here, the needs for breeding are reviewed in the context of three major marketing types, global, regional, local, in European OA. Currently, the effort is determined, partly, by the outcomes from trials that compare varieties under OA and CA (conventional agriculture) conditions. The differences are sufficiently large and important to warrant an increase in appropriate breeding. The wide range of environments within OA and between years, underlines the need to try to select for specific adaptation in target environments. The difficulty of doing so can be helped by decentralised breeding with farmer participation and the use of crops buffered by variety mixtures or populations. Varieties for OA need efficient nutrient uptake and use and weed competition. These and other characters need to be considered in relation to the OA cropping system over the whole rotation. Positive interactions are needed, such as early crop vigour for nutrient uptake, weedcompetition and disease resistance. Incorporation of all characteristics into the crop can be helped by diversification within the crop, allowing complementation and compensation among plants. Although the problems of breeding cereals for organic farming systems are large, there is encouraging progress. This lies in applications of ecology to organic crop production, innovations in plant sciences, and the realisation that such progress is central to both OA and CA, because of climate change and the increasing costs of fossil fuels