A trait–environment relationship approach to participatory plant breeding for organic agriculture

The extent of intraspecific variation in trait–environment relationships is an open question with limited empirical support in crops. In organic agriculture, with high environmental heterogeneity, this knowledge could guide breeding programs to optimize crop attributes. We propose a three-dimensional framework involving crop performance, crop traits, and environmental axes to uncover the multidimensionality of trait–environment relationships within a crop. We modeled instantaneous photosynthesis (Asat) and water-use efficiency (WUE) as functions of four phenotypic traits, three soil variables, five carrot (Daucus carota) varieties, and their interactions in a national participatory plant breeding program involving a suite of farms across Canada. We used these interactions to describe the resulting 12 trait–environment relationships across varieties. We found one significant trait–environment relationship for Asat (taproot tissue density–soil phosphorus), which was consistent across varieties. For WUE, we found that three relationships (petiole diameter–soil nitrogen, petiole diameter–soil phosphorus, and leaf area–soil phosphorus) varied significantly across varieties. As a result, WUE was maximized by different combinations of trait values and soil conditions depending on the variety. Our three-dimensional framework supports the identification of functional traits behind the differential responses of crop varieties to environmental variation and thus guides breeding programs to optimize crop attributes from an eco-evolutionary perspective.Fil: Rolhauser, Andrés Guillermo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Departamento de Métodos Cuantitativos y Sistemas de Información; Argentina. University of Toronto; CanadáFil: Windfeld, Emma. University of Toronto; Canadá. University of Calgary; CanadáFil: Hanson, Solveig. University of British Columbia; CanadáFil: Wittman, Hannah. University of British Columbia; CanadáFil: Thoreau, Chris. University of British Columbia; CanadáFil: Lyon, Alexandra. Kwantlen Polytechnic University; Canadá. University of British Columbia; CanadáFil: Isaac, Marney E.. University of Toronto; Canad

Opportunities and constraints to seed sovereignty for organic vegetable farmers in British Columbia

Seed is a primary element in a changing agricultural landscape and has seen a steady shift over the past 100 years from common good to private commodity. This shift has jeopardized long-held farmer traditions of saving, reusing, and selling seed and has catalyzed a response, framed as seed sovereignty, which challenges the corporate enclosure of seed while asserting farmers’ rights to save, sow, share, and breed seed, as well as participate in shaping seed policy. British Columbia (BC) has a history of vegetable seed production dating back to the early 1900s and offers a unique case study due to its high number of organic vegetable farms and locally focused seed companies. I used a mixed-methods approach including archival research, interviews, and an online survey to better understand ways in which BC organic vegetable farmers and seed growers experience seed sovereignty and identify constraints that limit their seed sovereignty and seed security. From 1915 to 1958, BC saw the rise and decline of a vegetable seed sector due to the influence WWI and WWII on seed imports from Europe. This history offers lessons for modern day seed production and a proactive approach to seed security. Currently, BC seed companies, independent seed growers, and vegetable farmers experience seed sovereignty in their rights to save, sow, share, and breed seed, as well as participate in shaping seed policy. However, BC vegetable seed production does not meet the needs of BC organic farmers who require larger quantities of high-quality seed. BC organic farmers’ dependence on imported seed, gives them a low degree of seed security, which they have mitigated by utilizing multiple sources of seed from local and international suppliers – reducing their vulnerability seed import disruptions. BC organic vegetable farmers and seed growers are constrained in their ability to meet provincial seed needs due to space, infrastructure, knowledge limitations, and a lack of data on the economic viability of seed production. However, well-established infrastructure among BC’s seed growers indicates the potential for scaling up seed production to better meet the needs of local farmer and protect the capacity for seed security in British Columbia.Land and Food Systems, Faculty ofGraduat

Conducting a Sustainability Assessment of UBC Food Services’ Meat and Meat Alternative Food Products

Disclaimer: “UBC SEEDS provides students with the opportunity to share the findings of their studies, as well as their opinions, conclusions and recommendations with the UBC community. The reader should bear in mind that this is a student project/report and is not an official document of UBC. Furthermore readers should bear in mind that these reports may not reflect the current status of activities at UBC. We urge you to contact the research persons mentioned in a report or the SEEDS Coordinator about the current status of the subject matter of a project/report.”Land and Food Systems, Faculty ofUnreviewedUndergraduat