Conservative MEP visits grass breeding station

Transcription

1 Plant Breeding Matters Information from the British Society of Plant Breeders Autumn 2013 De Mauley backs PVR campaign Defra science minister Lord de Mauley has given the Government s backing to the joint BSPB and AIC PVR campaign, highlighting the key role of plant breeding innovation and quality seed in supporting a competitive farming industry and a dynamic value chain. Speaking at BSPB s Annual Dinner in London earlier this year, Lord de Mauley said: I am very pleased to endorse the PVR campaign in highlighting the contribution of plant breeding as the starting point in the UK s 90 billion food supply chain. This chimes exactly with the Government s own aim to improve the competitiveness of UK agriculture through innovation. Investment in plant breeding offers one of the best opportunities to create additional value within the agri-food chain, not only through increased yields and production efficiency, but also through improvements in quality and seasonality. Continued investment in a dynamic, innovative and profitable plant breeding sector will be essential for the UK to contribute effectively to the global challenges of food security and sustainable development, he added. Central to the PVR campaign is an EU-registered PVR trademark, now in use throughout the seed trade on seed bags, stationery, invoices, websites and other marketing material serving as a prominent reminder of the research, innovation and independent testing behind each new variety and bag of purchased seed. More than 70 companies across the UK plant breeding and seeds sector have now signed up to use the trademark, which is supported by a campaign website at Richard Summers with Lord de Mauley Conservative MEP visits grass breeding station BSPB continued its programme of meetings with key UK MEPs when Anthea McIntyre, Conservative MEP for the West Midlands (right in photo), recently visited DLF Trifolium s forage and amenity grass-breeding site in Worcestershire. As politicians in Brussels debate new legislation affecting the entire EU seeds sector, BSPB is keen to ensure that UK representatives have a good grasp of the plant breeding sector, its importance to the food and farming economy, and its key role in delivering sustainable increases in food production. Top priorities for plant breeders in the new regulatory package on Plant Reproductive Material are to maintain the key pillars of seed identity, performance, quality and health and to promote innovation in professional plant breeding while reducing unnecessary red tape and saving costs where possible by transferring more responsibilities to industry under official supervision.

2 FEATURE CROP Progress in pulse breeding Despite major improvements in the performance and quality of UK pulse varieties, the home-grown area of field peas and field beans has fluctuated in recent years in competition with oilseed rape. But pulses may be set for a revival, fuelled by concerns to reduce the carbon footprint of our farming systems and to increase the UK s self-sufficiency in home-grown vegetable protein for animal feed, as Plant Breeding Matters reports. Yield New varieties of both field peas and field beans have shown consistently improved yields of 1-2% per year in Recommended List trials over the past years. Standing ability Better lodging resistance in field beans has come from breeders development of earlier maturing varieties with shorter, stiffer straw. Improved plant architecture in field peas has also been a priority in UK breeding programmes, generating new varieties with stabilising tendrils to improve the crop s harvestability. Disease resistance Modern varieties of field peas and spring beans offer high levels of resistance to disease problems such as downy mildew, while winter bean varieties have been developed with resistance to leaf and pod spot (Ascochyta fabae). Nutritional quality UK breeders have developed low tannin and tannin-free field bean varieties to improve digestibility and so allow higher inclusion rates in compound rations. High protein content also remains a key breeding objective, alongside the reduction of anti-nutritional factors such as glycosides. Dry-harvested field beans and field peas are mainstays of the UK pulse crop, with the combined area of spring- and autumn-sown varieties ranging from 110,000 to 250,000 ha over the past decade. Indeed the UK is consistently Europe s largest producer of faba beans, averaging 600,000 tonnes per year and ranking second only to China on a global basis. Faba beans account for some 90% of the UK s dry-harvested pulse crop. The principal market is for animal feed compounding, although a proportion of the UK crop is exported for human consumption to Middle Eastern countries such as Egypt, Lebanon, Qatar, Yemen and Saudi Arabia, where the faba bean remains a traditional staple. Breeding lines of beans for selection RECENT ADVANCES IN UK PULSE BREEDING Through investment in the development of improved varieties, plant breeders have delivered significant progress in the performance and end-use quality of home-grown pulses: Field trials assess yield, disease resistance and agronomic characters THE BREEDING PROCESS Improved varieties of field peas and field beans are developed using classical breeding techniques. Hundreds of individual crosses between promising parental lines are carried out by hand to create F1 seed which is then grown on to produce many thousands of different F2 plants. It is the enormous diversity of new gene combinations from this segregation process which may hold the key to a successful new variety. Seed from the best F2 plants is grown on in small rows or plots, and the best plants selected. As promising lines emerge, they are tested for yield, disease resistance and end-use quality. This process is repeated year after year until pure lines of only the very best plants remain, ready for seed

3 Modern varieties of peas offer high levels of resistance, for example to downy mildew Plant breeders are increasing potential yields of new pea and bean varieties by 1-2% per year New pea varieties have stabilising tendrils to improve harvestability multiplication and entry into official variety trials. Improved genetic understanding and the development of marker-assisted selection have increased the prospects of success for breeders, while advances in genomics and bioinformatics are opening up potential new opportunities to help commercial breeders pinpoint the genes responsible for particular quality or performance traits. suggests that in addition to fertiliser savings within the break crop itself, field beans contribute around 90kg/ha of soil nitrogen to the following cereal crop, so reducing N use across the rotation. UK plant breeders are involved in a number of collaborative research projects, focused on boosting quality and productivity and improving the reliability and consistency of in-field production. Current pulse-related research includes a number of projects with funding from the Technology Strategy Board and industry partners: STEMNEM also led by Wherry & Sons to investigate new sources of genetic resistance to stem nematode which affects yields in bean crops. As part of the project, resistance has been bred into commercial lines ready for field testing if successful, they will be the first UK varieties to carry this resistance trait. IMPROVING PULSE CROPS FOR FOOD SECURITY AND SUSTAINABILITY Faced with a rapidly expanding world population, a changing climate and limited natural resources, the challenge of increasing food production more sustainably is driving renewed UK research effort on pulses and legumes. For example, increased domestic production of high protein crops such as field beans could help reduce the UK s dependence on imported vegetable protein for animal feed, while the pulse crop s ability to fix nitrogen offers significant potential benefits for the environment and the farming economy by reducing N fertiliser use. Recent analysis by PGRO ABSTRESS a five-year EU-funded project led in the UK by Fera, to develop legume crops with improved resistance to biotic stress (e.g. disease) and abiotic stress (e.g. drought). OPTIBEAN a collaborative project led by independent UK breeder Wherry & Sons to improve the availability of UKsourced protein feed through the development of improved genetics (e.g. yield stability and podset stability), improved agronomy guidelines and new market opportunities for faba beans. Controlled crossing of bean varieties in isolation cages P R O M O T I N G I N N O V A T I O N I N P L A N T B R E E D I N G BEANS4FEED UK production of salmon, pigs and poultry relies on imported soy protein. This project, led by EWOS, a major supplier of feed to the aquaculture industry, is using UK grown faba beans to develop new protein and starch-based products to replace imported soy. Breeding partners are developing bean varieties with higher protein and lower anti-nutritional factors to further enhance the economic value of the process. PROTYIELD an industry/academic collaboration aimed at releasing additional yield potential in pulses by breaking the link between protein content and yield. PCGIN ongoing research effort through the Defra-funded Pulse Crop Genetic Improvement Network will also help to understand, characterise and exploit the valuable sources of genetic diversity maintained at UK-based institutes, including the extensive pea germplasm collection held at the John Innes Centre in Norwich and the more recently assembled faba bean collection at NIAB in Cambridge. The recent surge in research effort reflects the renewed significance attached to pulse crops in addressing the food security and sustainability challenges facing UK agriculture. It also highlights the importance of continued investment through certified seed royalties and farm-saved seed payments in commercial plant breeding programmes to ensure the outputs of this research are translated onto farm through improved varieties tailored to the needs of UK growers.

4 Richard Summers is new BSPB chairman Dr Richard Summers, cereal breeding and research lead at RAGT Seeds, has been elected chairman of BSPB for the next three years, taking over from KWS Nigel Moore. Speaking after his election in May this year, Dr Summers said the Society s focus under his chairmanship would be to capitalise on the renewed political support for agricultural science and technology, and to create the conditions for commercial plant breeders to help improve the productivity, sustainability and competitiveness of UK crop production. The signals now coming out of government, of the need to reinvigorate the UK agricultural R&D pipeline, to reverse the chronic declines in applied and translational research, and to restore the position of modern agriculture as a productive, hi-tech sector of the economy, are extremely positive for our sector, said Dr Summers. BSPB has been instrumental in highlighting the need to translate the UK s world-class plant science expertise into adapted germplasm, traits and breeding tools relevant to the needs of commercial plant breeders. Given the urgent demands on agriculture to produce more from less, there is increased recognition that our industry provides the only route to market for crop genetic innovation, through improved, high-performing varieties. Plant breeding is already a highly research-intensive activity, investing around one third of total income in R&D. This compares favourably with any other industrial sector 15% in the pharmaceuticals sector for example, 10% in the software industry, and less than 5% in the automotive, food and electronics sectors. But royalty income to plant breeders, while consistent, is relatively inelastic and provides little scope for investment in the kind of speculative, long-term research which will deliver the step-change improvements in yield, climate resilience, pest and disease resistance needed to meet future food security and sustainable development goals. The ongoing challenge for BSPB is to ensure the renewed significance attached to agricultural science and innovation translates into tangible opportunities to establish the UK as a major international centre of excellence for commercial plant breeding, supported by a strong framework of IP protection and proportionate, costeffective regulation, he said. RICHARD SUMMERS CEREAL BREEDING AND RESEARCH CO-ORDINATOR, RAGT Richard leads cereal breeding and research at RAGT. He is responsible for four winter wheat breeding programmes (in UK, France, Germany and the Czech Republic), as well as durum wheat, triticale and barley breeding and associated research groups. After a PhD in genetics at Sheffield University, Richard began his career at the Plant Breeding Institute (PBI) in 1984, working on disease resistance in wheat. After the sale of PBI to Unilever he worked as a winter wheat breeder in the UK and France until 1999 (producing over 35 commercially listed varieties with the breeding team). Under Monsanto ownership, , Richard had technical responsibility for the company s wheat breeding activities in Europe and South Africa. Richard took on his present role following the sale of the European wheat breeding programmes to RAGT in In addition to his role at BSPB, Richard sits on the NIAB Board and is a member of the John Innes Centre Science Impact Advisory Board. Hybrid wheat article scoops new BSPB award An in-depth article reporting the latest developments in hybrid wheat breeding won Tom Allen-Stevens, editor of Crop Production Magazine, the first BSPB award recognising excellence in agricultural journalism. Open to members of the Guild of Agricultural Journalists, the annual BSPB award was introduced to encourage and reward exceptional articles exploring innovation in plant breeding and seed technologies. The winning article describes the technology involved in hybrid wheat breeding and seed production, as well as the potential benefits on offer for UK growers. Award judges Chris Green of Senova, Robert Hiles of Syngenta and Bob Miles of Elsoms Seeds, described the piece as a very readable and well-researched story. The hybrid wheat article is valuable to the thinking farmer, with good factual and technical content. It s an article with plenty of interest and originality, plenty of facts with clear reasoning and discussion around them, they concluded. Tom Allen-Stevens (left) receives the first BSPB Award for agricultural journalism from judge and BSPB Board Member Chris Green Read the article at

5 UPDATE Earlier this year, BSPB issued a briefing note answering some of the questions most frequently asked by farmers and their advisers in relation to seed use and supply. These FAQs have been updated for autumn 2013 on the BSPB website ( including two additional points, explaining why the illegal transfer of FSS undermines plant breeding innovation, and a reminder to check for prefixes in the names of varieties when declaring farm-saved seed use. Q. My neighbour and I have grown different wheat varieties. We have each had some treated by our FSS processors for use as farm-saved seed. Surely we can swap some of this, as provided we make the FSS payment the breeders do not miss out? A. It is against the law to transfer FSS from one holding to another whether the FSS payment has been made or not. The legislation is there to establish a balance between the rights of the breeder and the grower, making sure that the breeder is rewarded appropriately and can continue to invest in the development of new varieties. The payment on FSS is approximately half of the royalty paid for a commercial supply of certified seed. Illegal transfer of farm-saved seed therefore erodes breeders income and reduces the funding available for reinvestment in breeding. Certified seed also brings a guarantee that the seed is of known provenance and quality and has been independently tested for germination and purity. RABI recognises BSPB donation RABI awards the Dennis Brown shield annually to the individual or organisation making the largest single donation in the year. BSPB was honoured to be presented with the shield at RABI s AGM to mark the Society s 10,000 donation in Bob Miles receives the Dennis Brown shield from HRH The Duke of Gloucester Q. I have farm-saved seed to declare but can t find the name of the variety that I have used on the list of eligible varieties. What should I do? A. First check whether the full name of the variety that you want to declare has a prefix, e.g. KWS Santiago, JB Diego, NFC Tipple, SY Venture, Es Astrid. Varieties are shown on the list in alphabetical order, including the prefix so you need to look for KWS Santiago and not Santiago. If you still cannot find the variety on the list contact BSPB on or fss@bspb.co.uk. FARM-SAVED SEED KEY POINTS Here is a reminder of the key points to ensure compliance with the rules of farm-saved seed. All use of farm-saved seed must be declared to BSPB, including the use of older, previously zero-rated varieties. There are five ways to declare by post, , online, phone and fax. Payment for use of eligible varieties must be made to BSPB. Two payment routes are available: via your NAAC or BSPB-registered seed processor at a tonnage rate; direct to BSPB at a hectarage rate. Farm-saved seed must be produced and saved within a farmer s own holding (i.e. land farmed as the same business). Farm-saved seed rules apply whether seed has been processed or taken straight from the barn. Farmers cannot sell, buy, barter or otherwise transfer farm-saved seed outside their own holding. The use of farm-saved seed from hybrid varieties is not permitted without the breeder s consent.

6 New website brings plant breeding to life! BSPB has launched a new online source of information about plant breeding. The Plant Breeding Matters website provides a lively and colourful guide to the plant breeding sector, and the contribution of new varieties in improving the quality, performance and productivity of our agricultural and horticultural crops. Focused on key themes such as food, health, economy and the environment, and incorporating illustrated case studies and video clips, the site has been developed by BSPB to meet increasing interest and demand for information about the business and science of plant breeding. Against a background of renewed public interest in modern, science-based agriculture and food production, we hope the Plant Breeding Matters website will engage and appeal to as wide-ranging an audience as possible in helping to explain and illustrate the contribution of the plant breeding and seeds sector, says BSPB chief executive Dr Penny Maplestone. Visit the new website at Plant breeders welcome new Agri-Tech Strategy BSPB has welcomed the Government s new Agri-Tech Strategy, published earlier this year, as a clear recognition of the need to forge stronger links between the science base and industry, and to accelerate the transfer of research into practical on-farm application. The Strategy s emphasis on productive, hi-tech farming and the allocation of new funding streams to support translational research are positive signals that agriculture is once again viewed as a key sector of the UK economy. But having set out a clear vision and policy framework to unlock the potential of the UK agri-food sector, BSPB chairman Dr Richard Summers says the Strategy s implementation must reflect the importance of investment in a functioning crop improvement pipeline. When setting priorities for the Strategy s implementation, Ministers and members of the Agri-Tech Leadership Council must recognise that no amount of precision farming, remote sensing or hitech robotics can replace for the need to ensure that advances in basic plant science can be readily translated into market-ready traits, germplasm and breeding tools. Access to improved crop varieties delivered to market by the commercial plant breeding and seeds sector is the foundation for successful, productive agriculture. But in recent years BSPB has moved to highlight concerns over the widening gap between public sector research and its relevance or accessibility to commercial plant breeders. The Agri-Tech Strategy offers a major opportunity to bridge this gap. Improved collaboration between public and private sector and increased investment in translational research can help plant breeders deliver the step-change improvements in yield, climate resilience, pest and disease resistance needed to meet future goals for economic growth, food security and sustainable development, said Dr Summers. British Society of Plant Breeders Ltd BSPB House, 114 Lancaster Way Business Park, ELY CB6 3NX Tel +44(0) Fax +44(0) enquiries@bspb.co.uk Website