Contributors xiii
Foreword xix
William F. Tracy
Preface xxi
Edith T. Lammerts van Bueren and James R. Myers
Acknowledgments xxiii
Section 1 General Topics Related to Organic Plant Breeding 1
Chapter 1 Organic Crop Breeding: Integrating Organic Agricultural Approaches and Traditional and Modern Plant Breeding Methods 3
Edith T. Lammerts van Bueren and James R. Myers
Introduction 3
How Different Are Organic Farming Systems? 4
Consequences for Cultivar Requirements 5
From Cultivar Evaluation to Organic Seed Production and Plant Breeding Programs 6
The History of Organic Crop Breeding in Europe and the United States 8
Perspectives and Challenges for Breeding for Organic Agriculture 11
Conclusion 12
References 12
Chapter 2 Nutrient Management in Organic Farming and Consequences for Direct and Indirect Selection Strategies 15
Monika Messmer, Isabell Hildermann, Kristian Thorup-Kristensen, and Zed Rengel
Introduction 15
Availability of Nutrients in Organic Farming 16
Roots: The Hidden Potential 17
Even Greater Complexity: Plant-Microbe-Soil Interactions 21
Importance of Selection Environments 27
Breeding Strategies 30
References 32
Chapter 3 Pest and Disease Management in Organic Farming: Implications and Inspirations for Plant Breeding 39
Thomas F. Döring, Marco Pautasso, Martin S. Wolfe and Maria R. Finckh
Introduction 39
Plant Protection in Organic Farming 42
Key Target Areas of Plant Breeding for Organic Plant Protection 46
Breeding Goals for Ecological Plant Protection 49
Plant Breeding Approaches Directly Targeting Pests or Diseases 50
Plant Breeding Approaches with Indirect Effects on Plant Health 53
Discussion and Conclusions 54
References 55
Chapter 4 Approaches to Breed for Improved Weed Suppression in Organically Grown Cereals 61
Steve P. Hoad, Nils-Øve Bertholdsson, Daniel Neuhoff and Ulrich Köpke Background 61
Crop Competitiveness against Weeds 62
Crop Traits Involved in Weed Suppression 63
Selection of Traits and Their Evaluation in Plant Breeding Programs 64
Selection Strategies 68
Understanding Crop-Weed Interactions to Assist Plant Breeding 70
Concluding Remarks and Wider Perspectives 71
References 72
Chapter 5 Breeding for Genetically Diverse Populations: Variety Mixtures and Evolutionary Populations 77
Julie C. Dawson and Isabelle Goldringer
Introduction 77
Benefits of Genetic Diversity for Organic Agriculture 79
On-Farm Conservation of Useful Genetic Diversity 80
Breeding Strategies 81
Conclusion 94
References 94
Chapter 6 Centralized or Decentralized Breeding: The Potentials of Participatory Approaches for Low-Input and Organic Agriculture 99
Dominique Desclaux, Salvatore Ceccarelli, John Navazio, Micaela Coley,Gilles Trouche, Silvio Aguirre, Eva Weltzien, and Jacques Lançon
Introduction 99
Centralized and Decentralized Breeding: Definitions 100
What Can Be Decentralized in Breeding and Why? 100
Participatory Approaches 102
PPB: A Single Term Yielding Different Approaches 102
Some Examples of PPB for Organic and Low Input Agriculture in Southern Countries 106
Some Examples of PPB for Organic and Low Input Agriculture in Northern Countries 113
General Conclusions and Limits of PPB Approaches in Organic Farming 119
References 120
Chapter 7 Values and Principles in Organic Farming and Consequences for Breeding Approaches and Techniques 125
Klaus P. Wilbois, Brian Baker, Maaike Raaijmakers and Edith T. Lammerts van Bueren
Introduction 125
Arguments against Genetic Engineering 126
Organic Basic Principles 127
Toward Organic Breeding 130
From Values to Criteria: Evaluation of Breeding Techniques 131
How to Deal with Varieties Bred with Non-compliant Techniques? 132
Toward Appropriate Standards to Promote Organic Plant Breeding 135
Discussion and Challenges for Organic Plant Breeding 136
References 136
Chapter 8 Plant Breeding, Variety Release, and Seed Commercialization: Laws and Policies Applied to the Organic Sector 139
Véronique Chable, Niels Louwaars, Kristina Hubbard, Brian Baker, and Riccardo Bocci
Introduction 139
The Developments of Plant Breeding and the Emergence of Seed Laws 139
Variety Registration 142
Seed Quality Control and Certification 144
Special Needs for Organic Agriculture 146
A Recent Development in Europe: Conservation Varieties 148
Intellectual Property Rights and Plant Breeding 151
Discussion 154
Conclusions 156
Notes 156
References 157
Section 2 Organic Plant Breeding in Specific Crops 161
Chapter 9 Wheat: Breeding for Organic Farming Systems 163
Matt Arterburn, Kevin Murphy, and Steve S. Jones
Introduction 163
Methods 163
Traits for Selection in Organic Breeding Programs 168
A Case Study for EPB: Lexi's Project 170
A Case Study for Breeding within a Supply Chain Approach: Peter Kunz and Sativa 171
Conclusion 171
References 172
Chapter 10 Maize: Breeding and Field Testing for Organic Farmers 175
Walter A. Goldstein, Walter Schmidt, Henriette Burger, Monika Messmer, Linda M. Pollak, Margaret E. Smith, Major M. Goodman, Frank J. Kutka and Richard C. Pratt
Introduction 175
What Kind of Maize do Organic Farmers Want? 175
Are There Viable Alternatives to Single Cross Hybrids? 176
Testing and Using Alternative Hybrids 178
Are There Benefits for Breeding under Organic Conditions? 178
For Which Traits Is It Necessary to Test under Organic Conditions? 179
Choice of Parents for Breeding Programs 181
Breeding Programs 182
Future Directions 186
Notes 186
References 188
Chapter 11 Rice: Crop Breeding Using Farmer-Led Participatory Plant Breeding 191
Charito P. Medina
Introduction 191
MASIPAG and Participatory Rice Breeding 192
Beyond PPB: Farmer-Led Rice Breeding 193
The Breeding Process 194
Outcomes of the MASIPAG Program 198
Outlook 200
References 201
Chapter 12 Soybean: Breeding for Organic Farming Systems 203
Johann Vollmann and Michelle Menken
Introduction 203
Agronomic Characters 204
Seed Quality Features 208
Considerations on Breeding Methods 211
References 212
Chapter 13 Faba Bean: Breeding for Organic Farming Systems 215
Wolfgang Link and Lamiae Ghaouti
Purposes of Breeding and Growing Faba Bean 215
Genetic and Botanical Basics of Breeding Faba Bean 216
Methodological Considerations 218
Traits to Be Improved in Faba Bean Breeding 221
Open Questions, Need for Action 223
References 224
Chapter 14 Potato: Perspectives to Breed for an Organic Crop Ideotype 227
Marjolein Tiemens-Hulscher, Edith T. Lammerts van Bueren and Ronald C.B. Hutten
Introduction 227
Required Cultivar Characteristics 228
Introgression Breeding and Applied Techniques 232
Participatory Approach: An Example from the Netherlands 233
Outlook 234
References 234
Chapter 15 Tomato: Breeding for Improved Disease Resistance in Fresh Market and Home Garden Varieties 239
Bernd Horneburg and James R. Myers
Introduction 239
Botanical and Genetic Characteristics of Tomato 240
Rationale for Breeding Tomatoes within Organic Systems 240
Breeding Needs with Focus on Organic Production 243
Case Studies: Breeding for Late Blight Resistance in Europe and North America 245
Outlook 247
References 248
Chapter 16 Brassicas: Breeding Cole Crops for Organic Agriculture 251
James R. Myers, Laurie McKenzie, and Roeland E. Voorrips
Introduction 251
Rationale for Breeding within Organic Systems 251
Plant Biology 252
Traits Needed for Adaptation to Organic Production 253
Consideration of Breeding Methods 257
A Farmer Participatory Broccoli Breeding Program 258
Outlook 260
References 261
Chapter 17 Onions: Breeding Onions for Low-Input and Organic Agriculture 263
Olga E. Scholten and Thomas W. Kuyper
Introduction 263
Robust Onion Cultivars 264
Breeding for Improved Nutrient Acquisition 265
Mycorrhizal Symbiosis and Product Quality 269
Conclusion 270
References 271
Index 273
