Our breeding program focuses specifically on plant traits that help conserve resources. This requires careful field observations to quickly identify new diseases or resistances.
Breeding
Sustainability in our varieties
Better equipped to combat insects, drought and other challenges – how do the traits in our plants contribute to sustainability?
More extreme weather events, drought or heavy rainfall – the Earth’s climate is changing rapidly. As a result, crop cultivation is becoming more challenging in many regions. How can we respond to this with our varieties? The answer is in sustainability traits, which help reduce inputs in agriculture, for example by improving resistance to diseases.
“Defining sustainability traits is not easy at all,” explains Olivier Cottet, Head of Global Product Development for Corn and Oilseeds. “That’s because many of our traits contribute to sustainability.” For example, every time our varieties withstand heat waves better or require less pesticide or fertilizer, a finite resource is conserved – benefiting both nature and the environment. New regulations on pesticides have also led to a much greater focus on genetic solutions.
“Whether it’s water, pesticides, insecticides or fertilizer – we want to reduce and optimize use of all of them as far as possible,” says Olivier. Our breeding therefore works closely with research on two different approaches: abiotic stress factors, such as water scarcity or drought stress, and biotic stress factors like plant and fungal diseases or insect infestation.
Varieties that require fewer resources, such as water or fertilizer, are better for nature and the environment.
Labels for more sustainable varieties
Quantitative genetics plays an important role in many abiotic stress factors: Many genes can be simultaneously involved in phenotype expression (such as drought stress tolerance) – and that complicates breeding work. However, once the trait has been successfully introduced into one of our varieties, that variety is given a specific label – such as ClimaControl3 for KASHMIR in corn (drought stress tolerance) or N-Adapt for SKOROS in oilseed rape (particularly good nitrogen efficiency). The work on these traits demands a lot of trials. In order to investigate drought stress, for example, you need fields that expose the plant to drought as uniformly as possible. This is the only way to enable a comparison of the results from different years – a real challenge in nature.
In contrast, for plant diseases or insect resistance, a specific gene is often responsible for a trait. That means breeders can try to pinpoint it in existing material. However, resistance is sometimes discovered by opportunistic observations in the field – as was the case with our InsectPROTECT oilseed rape variety. The challenge then is to replicate this resistance.
“Phenotyping isn’t easy, especially with insect resistances,” says Olivier. This is because insects are much more difficult to control, and tests in the greenhouse often differ from those in the field.
Genome editing, as practiced at the Gateway Research Center, could help introduce certain traits.
Comparing varieties with and without CR+ demonstrates how breeding combats diseases effectively.
Genome editing as a complementary approach
Genome editing is a new approach. This breeding method often allows traits for biotic stress factors to be identified more quickly. The team of Hongwu Jia, Head of Trait Development at the Gateway Research Center in St. Louis, plays a key part in that: The scientists are working on a wide range of traits with resistance to insects, viruses, fungal diseases, bacteria and parasites in different crops, such as virus yellows in sugarbeet, the cabbage stem flea beetle in oilseed rape, ergot in rye, and orobanche in sunflower. “Together with breeding, we consider the traits for which our genome editing approaches may yield faster results and where we can provide support,” says Hongwu.
“We have to keep on working intensively on traits.”
Olivier Cottet
Developing resistances takes time
It takes an average of about 10 years to successfully introduce a trait into our varieties. “The process always starts with observation in the field, where breeders can soon see which diseases or new pathogens are spreading, screen their germplasm to identify resistances and introduce them in their elite varieties,” says Olivier.
In the best-case scenario, multiple genes are used in a variety to build up a stronger resistance. Where only one gene is responsible, there is a greater risk that mutations may occur and the plant will no longer be resistant. “Several genes protect the plant longer from different disease races, producing a cumulative effect,” explains Olivier.
“The world’s population is growing and needs more food, yet the area of land that can be used for agriculture can’t be increased – that’s why we have to keep on working intensively on these traits,” adds Olivier. “Nature doesn’t sleep. Pathogens mutate or a new variant emerges – and then we have to respond swiftly.” |
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