Page 52 - Zbornik_Konf_2019

https://doi.org/10.15414/2019.9788055220703

4 International Scientific Conference Abstracts Book
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ECOBREED‐INCREASING OF THE EFFICIENCY AND COMPETITIVENESS OF ORGANIC
CROP BREEDING
Vladimir Meglič , Pavol Hauptvogel , Paul Bilsborrow , Dagmar Janovska , Heinrich
1
3
2
4
Grausgruber , Peter Dolničar , Mario Pagnotta , Kristina Petrović , Antoaneta G.
6
1
5
7
Kuhar , Werner Vogt‐Kaute
8
1
1 Agricultural Institute of Slovenia, Ljubljana, Slovenia; E-mail.: vladimir.meglic@kis.si
2 National Agricultural and Food Science Center, Piestany, Slovak Republic
3 University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Great Britain
4 Crop Research Institute, Prague-Ruzyne, Czech Republic
5 University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
6 Tuscia University, Viterbo, Italy
7 Institute for Field and Vegetable Crops, Novi Sad, Serbia
8 Naturland, Munich, Germany
The availability of organic seeds and varieties (including cultivars) is an economic and
technical challenge for organic producers. It is estimated that more than 95 % of organic
production is based on crop cultivars that were bred for the conventional sector and
consequently lack important traits required under organic and low-input production
conditions. The H2020 ECOBREED project aims at increasing the availability of seed and
varieties suitable for organic and low- input production. Activities focus on four crop species
of the organic sector, i.e. wheat (Triticum aestivum L. and T. durum L.), potato (Solanum
tuberosum L.), soybean (Glycine max (L). Merr), and common buckwheat (Fagopyrum
esculentum Moench.).
The project will develop (a) methods, strategies and infrastructures for organic
breeding, (b) varieties with improved stress resistance, resource use efficiency, and quality
and (c) improved methods for the production of high-quality organic seed.
In these procedures especially the analytical a pragmatic approach has been used by passport
descriptors (i.e. by ECPGR or Bioversity International), country of origin, breeder, heading and
selected traits the most important for the organic production, accessions with and high
reputation which plays an important role in breeding history, availability of material and by
the project aims ECOBREED. To make efficient use of large germplasm collections, the concept
of core collections has been proposed. Various types of data including passport data,
geographic origin, agronomic traits, and molecular markers we used for selecting a core set.
In the first part of the project, we identified, establishing and multiplying the core
collections for the 4 crop species. We performed phenotypic characterization of the species
core collections which will be used in breeding programs to produce varieties for organic
agriculture. ECOBREED enhance the portfolio of wheat, potato, soybean and buckwheat
varieties suitable for organic farming in Europe and identify traits and combinations of traits
suited to organic and low-input farming. They foster low-input agriculture, the sustainability
of farming practices and quality of products which meet consumer expectations. Conventional
systems will also benefit from varieties which are better adapted to lower resource inputs and
are more resilient to variable environmental conditions.

Keywords: wheat, potato, soybean, buckwheat, biotic/abiotic stress, phenotyping, genotyping
Acknowledgement
This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation
program under grant agreement No. 771367.

|52 4 International Scientific Conference Agrobiodiversity Nutrition, Health and Quality of Human and Bees Life
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September 11–13, 2019