Multi-trait evolution of farmer varieties of bread wheat after cultivation in contrasting organic farming systems in Europe

Abstract

Because of the lack of varieties for organic agriculture, associations of organic farmers in several European countries have begun cultivating landraces and historic varieties, effectively practicing in situ conservation of agricultural biodiversity. To promote agrobiodiversity conservation, a special list for "conservation varieties" was implemented in 2008 by the EU because for any exchange and marketing of seeds in the EU, a variety must be registered in an official catalog. Our study aimed at improving knowledge on the phenotypic diversity and evolution of such varieties when cultivated on organic farms in Europe, in order to better define their specific characteristics and the implications for the registration process. We assessed multi-trait phenotypic evolution in eight European landraces and historic varieties of bread wheat and in two pureline variety checks, each grown by eight organic farmers over 2 years and then evaluated in a common garden experiment at an organic research farm. Measurements on each farmer's version of each variety included several standard evaluation criteria for assessing distinctness, uniformity and stability for variety registration. Significant phenotypic differentiation was found among farmers' versions of each variety. Some varieties showed considerable variation among versions while others showed fewer phenotypic changes, even in comparison to the two checks. Although farmers' variety would not satisfy uniformity or stability criteria as defined in the catalog evaluation requirements, each variety remained distinct when assessed using multivariate analysis. The amount of differentiation may be related to the initial genetic diversity within landraces and historic varieties.

Seed production areas for the global restoration challenge

“…Crop plants have been selected to produce high seed yields under conditions of high intraspecific densities (Weiner, Andersen, Wille, Griepentrog, & Olsen, 2010); however, native plants used for restoration may need more space in between plants (i.e., less intraspecific competition), or may need specific localized commensalisms (e.g., parasites or mycorhizae) in order to produce profitable yields (Felton et al, 2016). Increasingly, evidence suggests that fieldscale diversification promotes native pollination systems (Kremen & M'Gonigle, 2015), while high intraspecific densities within SPA may make populations more susceptible to disease (Dawson et al, 2012;Jensen, Dreiseitl, Sadiki, & Schoen, 2011;Lankau & Strauss, 2011;Shykoff & Bucheli, 1995). Disease management within SPA may require intercropping or even more careful attention to intraspecific genotypic diversity (Parker, 1986).…”

Morpho‐physiological variation of Poa alpina L. genetic resources from the Rhaetian Alps, Italy, grown in two altitude‐contrasting sites

“…Care should be taken to avoid genetic shifts during seed multiplication phases in lowland environments of species meant for high‐altitude resowing. Peratoner () indicated in three generations the limit for seed multiplication to minimize the risk of genetic shifts in environments markedly different from those of germplasm origin, although genetic shifts after only two generations have been observed in agricultural systems (Dawson et al ., ). Differences in survival and/or fitness among genotypes due to differential adaptation to the environment of growth may result in severe alterations of a population genetic background with possible loss of misadapted individuals.…”

Predominant trait inheritance in wheat with multivariate approach

“…The information obtained from experiments can be enriched when analyzed in a multivariate model, since selection of genotypes should not be based on only one character (DAWSON et al, 2012;YEATER et al, 2015). Multivariate analysis of variance can identify the existing (co) variation between the response variables (HAIR et al, 2007).…”