Breeding Bread-Making Wheat Varieties for Organic Farming Systems: The Need to Target Productivity, Robustness,...

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Science
• Plant Breeding
• Sustainable Agriculture

Background:

• Organic farming uses different agronomic protocols (e.g., rotation, tillage, fertilization, crop protection) than conventional systems.
• Modern crop varieties are often developed for high-input conventional systems and may lack traits suitable for organic production, particularly due to restrictions on synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review evidence on the need for organic farming-focused breeding programs.
• To identify key traits for organic crop varieties.
• To compare the performance of conventionally bred varieties with those from organic or low-input breeding programs.

Main Methods:

• Review of evidence from variety trials and factorial field experiments.
• Analysis of studies comparing breeding program outcomes.
• Focus on wheat due to extensive European organic/low-input breeding programs.

Main Results:

• Conventional varieties may not perform optimally in organic systems.
• Organic breeding requires focus on nutrient use efficiency, weed competitiveness, and pest/disease resistance.
• Processing and nutritional quality are also critical for organic markets.

Conclusions:

• There is a clear need for dedicated organic breeding programs to develop varieties suited to organic systems.
• Targeting specific traits important to organic farmers, millers, bakers, and consumers is essential.
• Further research and breeding efforts are needed to optimize crop performance in organic agriculture.