Better Cercospora tolerance
“Important for more sustainable agriculture”
KWS has developed sugarbeet varieties with much-improved tolerance to the leaf disease Cercospora beticola using conventional breeding methods and is bringing them to market. Resistance breeder Friedrich Kopisch-Obuch gives some insight into that work.
Friedrich Kopisch-Obuch believes team spirit is key to success
There are already sugarbeet varieties with tolerance to Cercospora on the market. What makes the new varieties with improved Cercospora tolerance stand out?
Our varieties with the new trait combine unprecedented protection against Cercospora with high yield – whether the fields they’re grown in are infected or not. Trials with the new varieties in areas with high disease pressure are currently underway in several countries. Their yield is far higher than conventional Cercospora-tolerant varieties – and their protection against this disease is greater throughout the vegetation period. That increased protection also has the potential to reduce the use of fungicides – a key factor in achieving more sustainable agriculture.
From the breeding perspective: What was the particular challenge in developing better Cercospora tolerance?
Sugarbeet has a very complex genetic system, which makes breeding Cercospora-tolerant varieties a particular challenge. Previous Cercospora-tolerant varieties always had a far lower sugar yield. However, we discovered very strong tolerance to Cercospora in wild beet (Beta vulgaris ssp. maritima) and managed to fully decode its genome. Since wild beet is closely related to sugarbeet, we were able to cross its tolerance directly into our breeding material by conventional means. The new genetic material is a valuable addition to our existing options for delivering Cercospora tolerance. It gives us new opportunities to further increase the level of tolerance while also achieving a high sugar yield – whether plants are infested with Cercospora or not.
How long did it take to get the improved varieties ready for the market?
It took more than ten years before varieties with the new Cercospora tolerance were ready to be launched – which shows that plant breeders have to plan and work proactively over a timeframe of many years. In breeding, you must have an eye to the future, yet also be close to the market. I believe those are the great strengths of a company like KWS with its tradition of family ownership: Our structures enable us to invest long-term in projects.
However, teamwork is vital for such a large project to ultimately succeed. KWS colleagues from many breeding stations in Germany and abroad, with employees at all technical levels, were involved in the Cercospora project over a period of years. At the end of the day, the spirit of cooperation in the team, its combined know-how and the experience of all its members are crucial. |
Tobias Huth: “We expect many further approvals”
Tobias Huth, Head of the Business Unit Sugarbeet
“A milestone for our company”
KWS has already attained major milestones with a number of products. What do you believe is the strategic importance of the new Cercospora-tolerant varieties in this connection?
Successful global market launch of sugarbeet varieties with the new, improved Cercospora tolerance is an issue of great strategic importance for KWS and the Business Unit Sugarbeet. I feel sure it will mark a further milestone in our successful series of innovations, similar to what we achieved with the CONVISO® SMART system for controlling weeds or with our nematode-tolerant sugarbeet.
Cercospora poses growing challenges for farmers, since pesticides are becoming less effective due to increasing resistance to them or are regulated more strictly. We’re also delivering a powerful solution for more sustainable agriculture due to the potential for the new varieties to help reduce the use of fungicides.
Developing these varieties required many years of intensive research and breeding. However, further specific know-how from KWS’ Agro Service team and in the field of product management was and will still be needed to make these varieties ready for the market. We’re working on the timing of fungicide applications, how to tackle changeable Cercospora pressure, or on developing innovative app-based information systems for farmers, for example. We’re therefore delighted that initial varieties will be put on markets such as the U.S., Italy, Spain and Germany as part of a pre-launch in the spring of 2021. Varieties with improved Cercospora tolerance are undergoing registration in other countries. We therefore expect many further approvals this winter. |
Cercospora
The leaf disease Cercospora beticola is one of the most harmful sugarbeet diseases worldwide: Infection with this fungus can reduce yields by up to 50 percent. The disease pressure is moderate to high on some two-thirds of global cultivation area – and is growing. KWS has now bred new varieties and recently obtained a patent for this trait. It was awarded for processed sugarbeet seed in the U.S. |
Contact:
Britta Weiland
britta.weiland@kws.com
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