Acacia Hybrids in Vietnam

Crop Production/Industries,

Future breeding for organic and low-input agriculture: integrating values and modern breeding tools for improving robustness

Organic production and also the attention for plant breeding for organic agriculture is still increasing in Europe. The question often raised is how much does plant breeding for the organic sector differ from modern plant breeding and does a ban on GMO also include refraining from molecular marker assisted selection (MAS)? In this paper I will first elaborate on the values in organic agriculture and it related systems approach as a central focus in organic agriculture and will then discuss in which way molecular marker assisted selection can be of use for plant breeding for organic and low-input agriculture

A Collaborative Breeding Strategy for Organic Potatoes in the Netherlands

The ability of the organic farmer’s agronomic toolbox to reduce the susceptibility of a potato crop to late blight is limited, certainly under the Dutch climatic conditions. Conventional breeding programs do not generate either a sufficient number nor appropriate types of resistant varieties for organic systems; and a separate breeding program for the limited area of organic potato production is simply not viable. Therefore, all concerned forces have joined together in an umbrella program called Bioimpuls for organic potato improvement

Ethics of Plant Breeding: The IFOAM Basic Principles as a Guide for the Evolution of Organic Plant Breeding

The basic values of organic agriculture is laid down in the IFOAM four basic principles: the principle of health, the principle of ecology, the principle of fairness and the principle of care. These principles and the consequences and challenges for the further development of organic plant breeding is discussed. It is also explained why genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are banne

Regulating sustainable construction in Europe: An inquiry into the European Commission's harmonization attempts

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is first, to gain insight into how the European member states have addressed the concept of sustainability in their building regulatory frameworks; and second, to gain insight in the effects of harmonization attempts o

Organic plant breeding: a challenge for practice and science

This paper gives a short overview of the current practical and scientific challenges of plant breeding programmes for organic agriculture in Europe. Research is challenged to prove that organic plant breeding is more than just conventional plant breeding for another market, and to develop appro-priate concepts and strategies for improving varieties adapted to the principles and needs of organic farm-ing systems. Emphasis is on defining crop ideotypes and selection criteria, and on developing selection strategies, and on socio-economic and legal obstacles

Performing Cognitive Bias Modification training on a smartphone compared to an online version in young adults

Excessive substance abuse in young adults could develop into addiction. A possible cost-effective intervention that could reduce excessive alcohol consumption is Cognitive Bias Modification (CBM). However, this intervention causes a low motivation to train. This study will examine the effects of performing a CBM intervention. Participants (n = 64) completed a CBM training either on a computer or on their mobile device. Performing the CBM on a smartphone led to more completed CBM training blocks. No change in alcohol approach bias and alcohol use were found

The prevention of potato volunteers in organic farming systems by using pigs.

In organic agriculture potato volunteers, presenting an important primary inoculum source for late Blight (Phytophthora infestans), are controlled by mechanical meth-ods. These may be partly replaced by ‘foraging’ livestock animals, such as cattle, sheep, horses, ponies or pigs. Most animals eat only the remaining potatoes on the field surface; however, pigs also dig up potatoes. This paper reports on two experi-ments with pigs (sows or finishing pigs), which appear to be very effective in digging up potatoes that are left in the field after the potato harvest within a reasonable time period. However, the workload for the farmer, problems with animal health and meat quality and possible damage to the soil structure seriously limit the applicability of pigs for the control of potato volunteers. Aspects of animal health, animal nutrition and environmental aspects (nutrient excretion) are discussed

European perspectives of organic plant breeding and seed production in a genomics era.

For further optimisation of organic agricultural systems, more focus is required on organically produced seeds and the development of better adapted varieties. Organic plant breeding and seed production need to comply with the concept of naturalness as applied in organic agriculture, which not only includes the nonchemical and agro-ecological approaches, but also the integrity of life approach. As organic environments are less controllable and are more variable, breeding should aim at improved yield stability and product quality by being adapted to organic soil fertility as well as sustainable weed, pest and disease management. Also the ability to produce economicacceptable seed yield avoiding seed-borne diseases should be included. On the short term, organic plant production can gain better yield stability by increasing within-crop diversity by the use of mixtures of conventionally bred varieties or crop populations. Because of expected genotype by environment interaction more research is needed to define the best selection environment for selecting organic varieties. To arrive at better adapted varieties for organic farming systems the role of practical participatory plant breeding may be crucial. Although organic farming is clear on excluding the use of genetically modified organisms and their derivates, the use of molecular markers is still under debate. Questions arise with respect to their efficiency in selecting the most important organic traits, such as yield stability, and on the compounds and substances to produce and apply them. A major concern for a GM-free organic agriculture is an increasing contamination with genetically modified organisms in organic production and products, i.e., the problems related to co-existence of GM and non- GM agriculture. This paper discusses some important factors with regard to possible impact of co-existence on organic farming. Perspectives to a global scale of organic plant breeding and seed production are given from a European point of view

Searching for crop characteristics correlated with nitrogen efficiency in potato

Breeders lack knowledge about genetic variation in nitrogen response of potato under low-input conditions and about relevant crop traits associated with variation in nitrogen efficiency. Can the parameters of the ground cover curve be used as selection criteria for nitrogen efficiency in potato