Flax and Linseed - Industrial Crops: Breeding for BioEnergy and Bioproducts - page 244

Table 11.5 Target traits and parameter levels in flax and linseed
Flax ideotype Linseed ideotype

Resistance to lodging: 9 Resistance to lodging: 9 b

Resistance to pathogen complex: 8 Resistance to pathogen complex: 8 b

Middle vegetation period Middle vegetation period

Yielding potential of unretted stem reached in
trials: 7-8 t ha 1

Seed yielding potential reached in trials: 2,30-
2,40 t ha 1

Yielding potential of the seeds reached in tri-
als: 1,10-1,30 t ha 1

Fat content potential reached in trials: 42-
46 %

Long fiber content potential reached in trials:
22-25 %

Fat yielding potential reached in trials: 980-
1,000 kg ha 1

Total fiber content potential reached in trials:
39-41 %

Low linolenic acid content: less than 5 %

Long fiber yielding potential reached in trials:
1,25-1,40 t ha 1

High content of lignans (SECO)

Total fiber yielding potential reached in trials:
2,50-3,0 t ha 1

Low content of cyanogenic glycosides

Low linolenic acid content: less than 5 % Increasing absorption and accumulation of Cd

and Pb, increased tolerance to Cd and Pb

High content of lignans (SECO) Resistance to herbicide Basta

Low content of cyanogenic glycosides
Increasing absorption and accumulation of Cd
and Pb, increased tolerance to Cd and Pb
Resistance to herbicide Basta

Flax breeding is focused on population improvement. A secondary objective is
to develop and maintain populations with useful genetic variability necessary to
support the development of improved cultivars. Several target parameters
(Table 11.5 ) were also established in the Czech breeding program [ 59 ] resulting
in the registration of new linseed varieties Amon [ 108 ] and Raciol
[ 109 ]. The current breeding targets of the Czech linseed breeding program are:
(1) high-linolenic type: C18:3 content 55-65 %; (2) low-linolenic type: C18:3
content 10 %; (3) intermediate type: C18:3 content 30-40% of both linoleic and

alpha-linolenic acid. These three types are bred both for brown and yellow colour of
seeds. The same traits are being developed with increased content of secoisolar-
iciresinol (SECO) for high and low C18:3 and with decreased cyanogenic glyco-
sides content [ 110 ].

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Breeding Strategies and Integration of New Biotechnologies

Crop improvement is based on increasing genetic variability followed by the
selection of suitable phenotypes with desired combination of features and then
with reduction to eliminate genetic variability to meet the conditions of distinct-
ness, uniformity, and stability in newly developed varieties. Next to the traditional
breeding (intra or intergeneric hybridization, pedigree selection, bulk breeding),