Speed breeding and early panicle harvest accelerates oat (Avena sativa L.) breeding cycles

Abstract

Increasing the response to selection in plant breeding programs by reducing the time required to complete a generation of inbreeding can significantly shorten the time to release a cultivar. Recently, ‘speed breeding’ strategies that manage temperature, photoperiod, and micronutrients showed a significant reduction in time to inbreeding in several crops. The goal of this study was to determine if the speed breeding system can be effectively applied to oat (Avena sativa L.) for a single‐seed descent breeding scheme and to determine if seeds can be harvested early with acceptable germination for breeding purposes. Two systems were evaluated using eight genetically diverse oat genotypes under speed breeding (22‐h photoperiod) and normal growing conditions (16 h) in a randomized complete block design with a factorial arrangement of treatments and three replications. Our results indicated a significant reduction in time for all the phenological stages evaluated when speed breeding was used, compared with normal growing conditions. In particular, the reduction in time to flowering date was 11 d (62 vs. 51 d on average). Germination evaluations indicated that by 21 d after flowering, it was possible to obtain acceptable germination levels for all genotypes evaluated. This should be of great importance in breeding systems where single‐seed descent can be used.

Chile Pepper (Capsicum) Breeding and Improvement in the “Multi-Omics” Era

“…Speed breeding is implemented using growth chambers and glasshouses, with some modifications based on the crop species ( Ghosh et al, 2018 ). The success of speed breeding for rapid generation advancement has been demonstrated in barley ( Hordeum vulgare ; Zheng et al, 2013 ), durum wheat ( Triticum durum ; Alahmad et al, 2018 ), spring wheat ( Watson et al, 2019 ), oats ( Avena sativa L.; González-Barrios et al, 2021 ), and canola ( Brassica napus L.; Yao et al, 2016 ), among others. To date, there is no known report on the implementation of the speed breeding approach in chile pepper, although initial evaluation indicated that the speed breeding growing conditions for the day-neutral cowpea ( Vigna unguiculata [L.] Walp.…”

Selection for seed size has indirectly shaped specialized metabolite abundance in oat (Avena sativaL.)

“…In our work, we surveyed oats spanning almost a century of plant breeding -beginning with the rediscovery of Mendel in the early 20th century to genomics-enabled breeding in the 21st century. Yield has consistently been a trait of plant breeding interest, with yield gains throughout the 20th century (Rodgers et al, 1983) and is still a focus of current breeding programs (Haikka et al, 2020;González-Barrios et al, 2021).We examined the relationship between breeding intensity (by year of variety release), seed size, and defensive metabolites in more than 138 individuals. We found that more intensive breeding led to larger oat seeds, but not a greater proportion of edible tissue (groat) and, while relative concentrations of specialized metabolites were tied to seed size, they were not a direct target of plant breeding.…”

“…Today, oats are still known as a healthy whole grain (Singh et al ., 2013; Stewart & McDougall, 2014), with high concentrations of unsaturated fats (Carlson et al ., 2019) and heart health-promoting ß-glucans (Newell et al ., 2012). Both have been the subject of plant breeding efforts, but yield and disease resistance are still predominant traits of interest for plant breeding (Haikka et al ., 2020; González-Barrios et al ., 2021). In addition to these health-promoting compounds, oat seeds contain multiple specialized metabolites (Sang & Chu, 2017) but, to the best of our knowledge, these metabolites have not been a direct target of selection.…”

Selection for seed size has uneven effects on specialized metabolite abundance in oat (Avena sativaL.)

“…Today, oats are still known as a healthy whole grain ( Singh et al 2013 ; Stewart and McDougall 2014 ), with high concentrations of unsaturated fats ( Carlson et al 2019 ) and heart health-promoting β-glucans ( Newell et al 2012 ). Both have been the subject of plant breeding efforts, but yield and disease resistance are still predominant traits of interest for plant breeding ( Haikka et al 2020 ; González‐Barrios et al 2021 ). In addition to these health-promoting compounds, oat seeds contain multiple specialized metabolites ( Sang and Chu 2017 ) but, to the best of our knowledge, these metabolites have not been a direct target of selection.…”