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The future of plant breeding in the UK needs more diversity, collaboration and big data. That was the key message from a recent knowledge exchange event.
Hosted by Crop Health and Protection (CHAP) and the Soil Association, the conference will open discussions to explore how plant breeding can contribute to a more sustainable future for agriculture and meet the challenges of the 21st century. I was.
Presentations were made by industry experts including Professor Tim Benton of Chatham House, Tom MacMillan of the Royal Agricultural University, and Paul Gosling of AHDB. Afternoon breakout sessions provided the opportunity for participants to engage in facilitated discussions around important next steps to support the plant breeding sector and extend its current boundaries.
During the day, concurrent themes were revealed. Crops and varieties need to be more diversified, collaboration between breeders, farmers and academics is critical, and data from both research and farm projects need to be used more effectively.
Soil Association Policy and Strategy Director Joanna Lewis said: climatic conditions. “
“While this adds to the complexity of the breeding challenge, we have heard from across the industry that new digital solutions have offered the opportunity to decentralize testing and provide more relevant opportunities for on-farm conditions, including low-input systems. It was reassuring.”
“‘New’ isn’t everything. I’ve heard about the possibility of traditional breeds being rediscovered and tested for newly relevant traits such as nitrogen efficiency. Overall, the room has There was a welcome energy and optimism, and a determination to try again, focusing on existing cross-cutting networks to create the plant breeding systems needed in challenging times.”
The need for funding and the role of policy in directing change were also raised during the meeting. Long-term, direct funding to support plant breeding is essential to better utilize existing resources such as Genebanks and conduct more relevant field trials.
Dr. Ruth Bastow, Innovation Director of CHAP’s Agritech Innovation Center, said: “
“These quick wins include revisiting existing plant breeding toolboxes, testing in different growing environments and systems, such as controlled environments, testing within smaller geographic areas, and using low input, etc. This includes maximizing it by re-screening for additional characteristics.”
“We also discussed the role of speed breeding and genomic selection, putting the end user at the forefront of the process so that we could select varieties based not only on production volume, but also on demand from retailers and consumers. ”
“These discussions have been invaluable in truly grasping the current scenario and bring the knowledge and thoughts of representatives from across the sector for an informed view. We look forward to further cooperation in this area.” I look forward to
For more information:
Chap
enquiries@chap-solutions.co.uk
www.chap-solutions.co.uk
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