<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Substantial and sustainable increases in productivity of all crops are needed to meet the predicted demand for food, feed, fibres, flowers, fuels, fun, feed-stocks and pharmaceuticals of this 21st century bio-based economy. Plant breeding is vital for protecting the yield gains made to date, and for further increasing the genetic yield potential of all crops. As a result of the Green Revolution, global productivity of the main food staples steadily rose since the 1960s. Such achievements ensued from crop genetic enhancement partnerships. They are models for illustrating partnering for exchange, evaluation, release and use of plant genetic resources worldwide. These partnerships include national agricultural research institutes and international agricultural research centres. For many decades the global wheat yield increased due to an effective International Wheat Improvement Network (IWIN), which deployed cutting-edge science alongside practical multi-disciplinary applications, resulting in the development of bred-germplasm that has improved food security and the livelihoods of farmers in the developing world. IWIN operates field evaluation trials in more than 250 locations of 100 countries for testing breeding wheat lines across many environments. The International Network for Genetic Evaluation of Rice (INGER) has become an integral component of rice breeding programmes: every year partners provide about 1000 genetically diverse breeding lines, which have been grown in about 600 experiment stations from 80 countries. The Latin American Maize Programme (LAMP) has assessed national germplasm, facilitated the exchange of genetic resources across the continent, and its core subset has been made available to encourage further use in broadening maize genetic resources. For example, the Germplasm Enhancement of Maize (GEM) project has used LAMP-selected landraces in crosses with elite temperate maize lines provided by North American private companies, to introgress useful genetic diversity into US maize germplasm, with the aim to broaden the genetic base of “corn-belt” hybrids.</p></abstract>

Substantial and sustainable increases in productivity of all crops are needed to meet the predicted demand for food, feed, fibres, flowers, fuels, fun, feed-stocks and pharmaceuticals of this 21st century bio-based economy. Plant breeding is vital for protecting the yield gains made to date, and for further increasing the genetic yield potential of all crops. As a result of the Green Revolution, global productivity of the main food staples steadily rose since the 1960s. Such achievements ensued from crop genetic enhancement partnerships. They are models for illustrating partnering for exchange, evaluation, release and use of plant genetic resources worldwide. These partnerships include national agricultural research institutes and international agricultural research centres. For many decades the global wheat yield increased due to an effective International Wheat Improvement Network (IWIN), which deployed cutting-edge science alongside practical multi-disciplinary applications, resulting in the development of bred-germplasm that has improved food security and the livelihoods of farmers in the developing world. IWIN operates field evaluation trials in more than 250 locations of 100 countries for testing breeding wheat lines across many environments. The International Network for Genetic Evaluation of Rice (INGER) has become an integral component of rice breeding programmes: every year partners provide about 1000 genetically diverse breeding lines, which have been grown in about 600 experiment stations from 80 countries. The Latin American Maize Programme (LAMP) has assessed national germplasm, facilitated the exchange of genetic resources across the continent, and its core subset has been made available to encourage further use in broadening maize genetic resources. For example, the Germplasm Enhancement of Maize (GEM) project has used LAMP-selected landraces in crosses with elite temperate maize lines provided by North American private companies, to introgress useful genetic diversity into US maize germplasm, with the aim to broaden the genetic base of “corn-belt” hybrids.

Swimming in the Breeding Pool: Partnering for Conservation of Plant Genetic Resources through Crop Germplasm Enhancement

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Plant Breeding and Biotechnology, Sundsvagen 14, Box 101, SE 23053, Alnarp, SWEDEN

Proceedings of the Latvian Academy of Sciences. Section B. Natural, Exact, and Applied Sciences.

Substantial and sustainable increases in productivity of all crops are needed to meet the predicted demand for food, feed, fibres, flowers, fuels, fun,...

Swimming in the Breeding Pool: Partnering for Conservation of Plant Genetic Resources through Crop Germplasm Enhancement

Published Online: Apr 12, 2013

Page range: 143 - 147

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/v10046-012-0020-1

This content is open access.