Plant breeding and climate changes

Abstract

SUMMARYClimate change is now unequivocal, particularly in terms of increasing temperature, increasing CO2 concentration, widespread melting of snow and ice and rising global average sea level, while the increase in the frequency of drought is very probable but not as certain.However, climate changes are not new and some of them have had dramatic impacts, such as the appearance of leaves about 400 million years ago as a response to a drastic decrease in CO2 concentration, the birth of agriculture due to the end of the last ice age about 11 000 years ago and the collapse of civilizations due to the late Holocene droughts between 5000 and 1000 years ago.The climate changes that are occurring at present will have – and are already having – an adverse effect on food production and food quality with the poorest farmers and the poorest countries most at risk. The adverse effect is a consequence of the expected or probable increased frequency of some abiotic stresses such as heat and drought, and of the increased frequency of biotic stresses (pests and diseases). In addition, climate change is also expected to cause losses of biodiversity, mainly in more marginal environments.Plant breeding has addressed both abiotic and biotic stresses. Strategies of adaptation to climate changes may include a more accurate matching of phenology to moisture availability using photoperiod-temperature response, increased access to a suite of varieties with different duration to escape or avoid predictable occurrences of stress at critical periods in crop life cycles, improved water use efficiency and a re-emphasis on population breeding in the form of evolutionary participatory plant breeding to provide a buffer against increasing unpredictability. ICARDA, in collaboration with scientists in Iran, Algeria, Jordan, Eritrea and Morocco, has recently started evolutionary participatory programmes for barley and durum wheat. These measures will go hand in hand with breeding for resistance to biotic stresses and with an efficient system of variety delivery to farmers.

Genetic diversity in Brazilian soybean germplasm

“…The development of genotypes with better performance at high temperatures, high CO 2 concentration, and under water and salt stress has become a challenge that must be met with a certain urgency due to the ongoing climate changes (Ceccarelli et al 2010). However, facing these challenges and developing soybean cultivars with the desirable traits requires a diversification of the genetic background of the current breeding population by incorporating new genetic backgrounds from other countries.…”

Changes in Knowledge Management Strategies Can Support Emerging Innovative Actors in Organic Agriculture: The Case of Participatory Plant Breeding in Europe

“…The use of such varieties in organic agriculture promotes an input substitution approach increasing the risk for conventionalisation [28]. The diffusion of selection processes across different environmental conditions incorporating the direct involvement of farmers has great potential to develop crop varieties better adapted to different organic and low input farming systems [29]. Decentralized and Participatory Plant Breeding (PPB) is a promising approach for developing innovation in plant breeding following the agroecological paradigm.…”

“…PPB has been carried out traditionally with small farmers in developing countries [25,30,31]. More recently it has been proposed as an alternative breeding approach for organic and low input farming in Europe [32] with a focus on adaptation to climate change [29]. PPB is often criticized for the high investment in time and resources required to build farmer networks, but in a context where farmers are already embedded in social networks such investments can be significantly lower and may not entail additional efforts for dissemination or marketing of the varieties released [33].…”

Sunflower crop and climate change: vulnerability, adaptation, and mitigation potential from case-studies in Europe

“…Plant breeding is considered to be a substantial tool for adaptation strategies to climate change (Ceccarelli et al, 2010). Breeding for new varieties better adapted to thermal shocks (heat, cold) and drought is often suggested as the major long-term adaptation.…”

“…Breeding for new varieties better adapted to thermal shocks (heat, cold) and drought is often suggested as the major long-term adaptation. The breeding strategies aim at improved water efficiency, improved drought stress tolerance, and increased responsiveness to higher atmospheric [CO 2 ] (Ceccarelli et al, 2010;Ziska et al, 2012). However, prospective results of plant breeding are unforeseeable and the impact assessment strongly depends on the assumptions made on breeding progress (Graß et al, 2015).…”