Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
ing of how best to continue making breeding
progress, which is always measured by increased
productivity. Conceptually, this is like walking up
a hill (achieving higher grain yields), always going
higher, with the implicit assumption that one is
walking up the highest hill or there may only be
one hill (the target environments). However, con-
sider the possibility of several hills and the current
hill is not the highest (one could achieve greater
yields with a completely different set of germ-
plasm). How would a breeder know to walk down
from a hill (give up grain yield) to walk to a
higher hill (one with higher grain yield potential)?
Crop models may provide the needed guidance
and confi dence to make these decisions. Agro-
nomically important genes, such as photoperiod
insensitivity or semidwarfi ng genes, were
present in many lines before breeders under-
stood their value in specifi c environments. For
example, Strampelli used photoperiod insensitiv-
ity and dwarfi ng gene
Rht8
from the Japanese
landrace Akakomugu long before the genetic and
physiological basis were understood (Gale and
Youssefi an 1985). Plant breeding is always
concept-driven, and models may help develop the
plant phenotypes and genotypes needed for future
success.
One fi nal area that will need to be considered
in any discussion on wheat breeding is who will
employ the wheat breeders of the future—the
public sector or the private sector (Morris et al.,
2006). As both authors of this chapter are public-
sector plant breeders, we fully recognize that our
conclusions may be biased. In this chapter, we
have described wheat breeding methods that are
used by public and private breeders alike for
developing cultivars for large and small landown-
ers. However, in our careers we have witnessed
the privatization of the formerly public breed-
ing programs in England and the apparent
transition from public to private-oriented
programs in Australia. Also, within the global
plant breeding enterprise, the trend is clearly
toward the private sector (Morris et al., 2006).
Hence, it is worthwhile to speculate on the
appropriate role of public and private plant breed-
ing (see also http://km.fao.org/gipb/index.
php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1 and http://
www.ag- innovation.usask.ca/final%20policy
%20briefs/MallaGray_11.pdf).
In regions where the private sector cannot be
fi nancially successful, clearly the public sector is
needed to create new cultivars. Internationally,
this has been the role of CIMMYT and it part-
nership with the national agricultural research
centers. In developing and developed countries,
ineffective intellectual property rights (remedied
by the International Union for the Protection of
New Varieties of Plants; http://www.upov.int/
index_en.html) and farmer-saved seed often pre-
vented private breeding programs from being
fi nancially successful. However, with newer seed
laws, private companies have succeeeded in most
major wheat-producing regions (e.g., India, North
America, Europe, South America, Australia). In
some regions, private investment and activity has
ebbed and fl owed, as have the number of compa-
nies. In these regions, the public breeding sector
will most likely remain strong until it is clear that
the private sector will provide the necessary con-
tinuity for a vibrant agriculture.
For some products, such as hybrid wheat, the
commercial sector is ideally suited for developing,
increasing, and marketing the seed. For hybrid
wheat, the public sector lacks the continuum
of skills or resources to successfully develop
hybrids. However, the private sector, especially
in market economies, often lacks the patience or
resources for the long-term research needed to
develop hybrids. The need for private long-term
investment may be driven by the public sector
having made limited investment in this long-
term research effort to support private-sector
activities.
The public sector is also necessary to train new
plant breeders (Baenziger 2006; Morris et al.,
2006); however, the size and scope of modern
plant breeding activities will increasingly place
more demand on practical training in breeding
through internships in the private sector. The
public sector is also needed to develop and vali-
date new plant breeding theory, as rarely will
these activities have the fi nancial rewards that
private investors desire. In fact, some countries
(including developed countries) with little public
plant breeding capability can no longer effectively
