Evaluation Of Population-Varieties Developed Within A Wheat Participatory Breeding Program In France: Performances, Diversity, Stability And Adaptation

Modern agricultural systems rely on little crop genetic diversity, especially with the use of homogeneous varieties grown on large areas. However crop genetic diversity within fields is a lever for a more sustainable production, allowing for a greater stability through combined resistances to biotic and abiotic stress, and buffering environmental heterogeneity which characterizes organic systems. In France, a Participatory Plant Breeding (PPB) project has been applied on bread wheat since 2006 involving farmers and facilitators of the farmers' seed network Réseau Semences Paysannes and INRA researchers for the development of populations based on a decentralized selection in farmers' fields. This project leads to the development of heterogeneous populations whose intra-variety genetic diversity should allow them to adapt to farmers' practices and environments. We evaluated the agronomic behavior, genetic diversity, stability and local adaptation of ten populations developed within the PPB program compared to two commercial pure line varieties. Some populations had very interesting responses when considering grain yield, biomass production and protein content, and six of them were not significantly less productive than the two commercial varieties when comparing overall grain yield per population. While no clear evidence of local adaptation was detected, we found that populations' quality and in a lesser extent grain yield were more stable over years than that of commercial varieties. Protein content stability over time was positively correlated to genetic diversity with no significant drawback on protein production

Sensory Analyses and Nutritional Qualities of Wheat Population Varieties Developed by Participatory Breeding

International audienceWheat is a staple food in many diets and is currently cultivated worldwide. It provides a large proportion of the daily energy intake and contributes to food balance. Changes in agro-industrial practices in the bread sector, from the field to bread-making, have led to an increase in chronic diseases and nutritional deficits, emphasizing the link between food and health. Several levers could be used to improve the nutritional quality of bread wheat. Organic farming, by avoiding the use of pesticides, might allow for greater consumption of wholegrain products. Breeding wheat cultivars with an enhanced mineral content may serve as another lever. In this context, the on-farm participatory plant-breeding of highly diversified varieties could provide promising resources. This study investigated the sensory and nutritional quality of nine population varieties resulting from a ten-year participatory plant-breeding process compared to two commercial pure-line varieties. Analysis of variance showed genotype effects for Mg and Zn concentration, so breeding for a high Mg and Zn concentration can reasonably be envisaged. Moreover, a positive correlation was found between plant height, peduncle height (distance between the Last Leaf and Spike (LLSD)) and nutrient content. Finally, as population varieties express more differences in their profile when grown in less fertile soils, these results emphasize the benefits of genetic diversity for diverse nutritional intake and sensory properties

Genetic Diversity and Stability of Performance of Wheat Population Varieties Developed by Participatory Breeding

Modern agricultural systems rely on reduced crop genetic diversity, due in particular to the use of homogeneous elite varieties grown in large areas. However, genetic diversity within fields is a lever for a more sustainable production, allowing greater stability and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. In France, a Participatory Plant Breeding (PPB) project on bread wheat, involving farmers, facilitators and researchers, has led to the development of heterogeneous populations whose within-variety genetic diversity is expected to confer the ability to adapt to farmers’ practices and environments. We studied the stability and local adaptation of ten of these farmers’ populations as well as two commercial varieties in relation to their within-variety genetic diversity. Although no clear evidence of local adaptation was detected, we found that populations’ grain yield and protein content were more stable over space and time respectively than those of commercial varieties. Moreover, the varieties’ stability over time in terms of protein content was positively correlated with within-variety genetic diversity with no significant drawback on protein yield. These results demonstrate the wide adaptive potential of PPB populations, highlighting the importance of seed exchange networks for agrobiodiversity management and use. They emphasize the benefits of genetic diversity for stability over time, which is of great interest to farmers

Dossier : Des recherches participatives dans la production des savoirs liés à l'environnement – La sélection participative à l'épreuve du changement d'échelle. À propos d'une collaboration entre paysans sélectionneurs et généticiens de terrain

Dans les années 2000, des agriculteurs désireux de cultiver des blés correspondant à leurs besoins et soucieux d'affirmer leur autonomie vis-à-vis de l'industrie semencière, ont entrepris de relancer la sélection paysanne à la ferme. Des collaborations ont été tissées avec des généticiens de l'Inra, et se sont progressivement développées dans le cadre de projets financés. Or les financements de recherche impliquent une formalisation des partenariats, des engagements en termes de résultats académiques et une augmentation significative de la taille des projets. Dans ce nouveau contexte, comment préserver les valeurs d'émancipation paysanne et de justice cognitive sur lesquelles la collaboration paysans-chercheurs s'est originellement construite ? Cet article aborde la façon dont ce défi se pose concrètement aux acteurs de ces projets, et les précautions qu'ils mettent en oeuvre pour y faire face

Agronomic Evaluation of Bread Wheat Varieties from Participatory Breeding: A Combination of Performance and Robustness

Participatory plant breeding (PPB) is based on the decentralization of selection in farmers’ fields and their involvement in decision-making at all steps of the breeding scheme. Despite the evidence of its benefits to develop population varieties adapted to diversified and local practices and conditions, such as organic farming, PPB is still not widely used. There is a need to share more broadly how the different programs have overcome scientific, practical, and organizational issues and produced a large number of positive outcomes. Here, we report on a PPB program that started on bread wheat in France in 2006 and has achieved a range of outcomes, from the emergence of new organization among actors, to specific experimental designs and statistical methods developed, and to populations varieties developed and cultivated by farmers. We present the results of a two-year agronomic evaluation of the first population varieties developed within this PPB program compared to two commercial varieties currently grown in organic agriculture. We found that several PPB varieties were of great agronomic interest, combining relatively good performance even under the most favorable conditions of organic agriculture and good robustness, i.e., the ability to maintain productivity under more constraining conditions. The PPB varieties also tended to show a good temporal dynamic stability and appeared promising for the farmers involved