In 2004, after attending an organic field day seminar
organized by Dr. Martin Entz, Fox decided to try his hand at breeding cultivars
for organic production. Seven years later, Fox now has a well established
organic-based wheat breeding program and is beginning to identify varieties
that are adapted to organic growing conditions. This program forms the basis of
the organic cereal crop breeding research activity of the Organic Science
Cluster.
Why breed specifically for organic production? The
agroecology of organics is different; there is restricted nutrient
availability, the microflora of the soil is different and weed pressure is a
big constraint. The breeding program aims to generate varieties that yield
highly under this organic agroecosystem. Then, it will be possible to study why
these varieties are adapted to organic, and what features these plants have
that the conventionally bred cultivars do not.
"Some of the conventional varieties are very
appropriate for organic production, others are not," notes Fox. "Lots
of things are the same between conventional and organic breeds; it is not an
easy task to determine what is different. We are chasing physiological features
of cultivars that make them better suited to organic production rather than
conventional, but we don't yet really know what those features are,"
confirms Fox.
"The worst case outcome for breeding organic wheat
would be to find out that the conventional and organic environments don't
differ. But, if you finally argue that they are the same, I will only have done
more wheat breeding which isn't so bad." However, he believes that the
materials generated while creating novel varieties for organic agriculture will
be useful in demonstrating adaptation to organic production and will provide
the basis for research projects to elucidate these adaptation factors.
Fox observes that some plant traits may be valued
differently in conventional and organic production systems. As an example,
shorter plants are preferred in conventional agriculture, as they tend to be
more resistant to lodging while supporting heavy spikes. In organic situations,
taller plants may be more appropriate, because they may be more competitive
with weeds and will tend to grow less tall due to nutrient stresses.
Building a breeding program takes time, requiring eight
to twelve generations of selection and testing. It all begins with an initial
cross. After seven generations of segregation, a new line is adequately inbred
and represents a potential new cultivar. However, six more years of testing are
typically required to identify a new cultivar suitable for registration.
"Once this happens, the seed grower can start multiplying a cultivar for
commercial use," explains Fox, which requires three more years of time and
investment before the line is finally ready to go on the market.
With this heavy investment of time and resources, Fox
works hard to ensure that the data used to make the decision to register a
variety is of good quality. A breeding program struggles when pertinent
information cannot be obtained, which can happen for any number of reasons. If
the weather is too dry, then assessment of disease resistance cannot be done.
If a location is heavily wind damaged, lodging resistance cannot be estimated.
Frosted grain cannot be used to make grain quality decisions. Having multiple
test locations, as Fox does, helps to avoid these obstacles, while also
providing additional opportunities to see specific plant stress conditions that
are difficult to create in a breeding nursery environment. "I run a fairly
big wheat breeding program; having material at various locations helps to
protect the program from losing material all together and ensures getting an
adequate amount of data to make good decisions each year.
"I measure my success based on variety surveys: if
farmers grow my varieties, then I must be doing a good job. This is more
important to me than counting the number of my scientific publications. I am
proud when farmers grow my varieties."
Being ecosensitive, Fox is planning to implement a
carbon neutral system in his house in Winnipeg to supplement water and heating;
he also plans to build a rain collector and has been composting for years.
Using fewer resources makes sense to him, as well as using them wisely.
Fox dreams of being the best wheat breeder in Western
Canada and of the Winnipeg Jets winning the Stanley Cup. “Then, Canada could
feed its hockey players the best organic wheat varieties! After all, we already
have Kane wheat, and one of the Jets star players is named Evander Kane....”
(This article was written by Nicole Boudreau,
Organic Federation of Canada, on behalf of the OACC with funding provided by Canada's Organic Science
Cluster (a part of the Canadian Agri-Science Clusters Initiative of
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's Growing Forward Policy Framework). The
Organic Science Cluster is a collaborative effort led jointly by the OACC, theOrganic Federation of Canada and industry partners. OACC
newspaper articles are archived atwww.oacc.info one
month after publication. For more information: 902-893-7256 oroacc@nsac.ca.)
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