This document discusses progresses and challenges for breeding climate resilient crop cultivars. It summarizes that plant breeding has improved crop yields, disease resistance, and winter hardiness over time. However, climate change is posing new challenges for plant breeding like drought tolerance, flooding resistance, and adapting to more extreme weather. Future opportunities for plant breeding include using genomic selection, gene editing, big data, and automatic phenotyping to develop crop varieties adapted to future climate conditions faster and more precisely. More research is still needed, especially on root systems and understanding different testing environments.

1. <<
PROGRESSES AND
CHALLENGES FOR BREEDING
CLIMATE RESILIENT CROP
CULTIVARS
Merja Veteläinen, Boreal Plant Breeding Ltd
31.10.2017

2. <
CONTENTS
Introduction
Plant breeding progress in the past
Future challenges and opportunities
Summing up
31.10.2017

3. <
INTRODUCTION
 Plant breeding = genetic improvement of
plant traits
 sustainable changes
 Plant breeding products = cultivars
 Cultivar development time 8-10 years
 Climate resilient crop cultivars = crop
cultivars adapted to weather
extremes/changing environment?
31.10.2017

4. <
GOALS OF PLANT BREEDING
 High yield
 Adapatation to prevailing growing conditions
 Winterhardiness for autumn sown crops
 Good crop end- use quality
 Resistance to pests and diseaases

5. <
BOREAL BREEDING PROGRAMMES
cover all main species cultivated in Finland
Cereals
Barley, Oat, Spring/Winter-wheat, Winter-rye
Oil crops
Spring turnip rape
Grasses
Timothy, Tall fescue, Meadow fescue, Red clover
Other crops
Pea, Fababean
Several sub-programs
in order to produce
cultivars
in different maturity
groups

6. <<
PLANT BREEDING PROGRESS IN
THE PAST
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7. < INCREASED YIELD POTENTIAL…
CASE OAT
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
4500
5000
5500
6000
Veli (1981) Aarre (1995) Fiia (2002) Akseli (2009)
Sato, kg/ha
lako-%
Source: Official variety trials
Yield kg/ha
Lodging %

8. <
… WITHOUT COMPROMISING IN
EARLINESS
CASE 6-ROW BARLEY
4600
4800
5000
5200
5400
5600
5800
Rolfi (1997) Voitto (2005) Aukusti (2010)
84,1 d 84,7 d 84,6 d
Source: Official variety trials 2003-2012

9. < … ALONG WITH IMPROVED STRAW
STIFNESS…
Cv. Kaarle, Boreal trial 2015
Photo: Reino Aikasalo

10. <
ALSO DISEASE RESISTANCE HAS BEEN
IMPROVED
CASE BARLEY MILDEW
Lähde: Viralliset lajikekokeet, 2006-2013
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
Rolfi (1997) Wolmari (2010) Jalmari (2013)
Sensitivitytobarleymildew
%

11. < WINTER HARDINESS CRUCIAL TRAIT FOR
OVERWINTERING CROPS
Photo: Mika Isolahti
Tall fescue, Sotkamo trial

12. <<
FUTURE CHALLENGES AND
OPPORTUNITIES
31.10.2017

13. < CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTION OPTIONS
FOR PLANT PRODUCTION
New
varieties
and
planting
times
Crop
diversi-
fication
Preci-
sion
agricul-
ture
Conser-
vation
agricul-
ture
31.10.2017
Source: CGIAR

14. <
31.10.2017
Seasonal changes in temperature and moisture
conditions
 Drought resistance
 Resistance to anaerobic/flooding conditions
Variation in over-wintering conditions
 Cold hardening and resistance, optimization of growth
cessation time (forage crops)
 Resistance to snow molds
New pests and diseases
 Continuous improvement of resistance
Weather extremes e.g. rainstorms
 Straw stiffness
 Robust plant architecture
Increasing precipitation late season/at ripening
 Straw stiffness, resistance to Fusarium toxins, pre-
harvest sprouting resistance
CLIMATE CHANGE CHALLENGES FOR PLANT BREEDING

15. <
OPPORTUNITIES
Genomic
selection
Gene
editing
Big data
Automatic
phenotyping
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16. <
EXAMPLES ON RESEARCH NEEDS
• Genomic based
plant breeding
needs good
phenotype
measures
TRAITS
• Understanding
of testing
environments
ENVIRONMENT
31.10.2017

17. <
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ROOTS!

18. <
SUMMING UP
 Plant breeding has always developed varieties
for coming environmental conditions
 New breeding tools would allow to meet the
future demands more quickly and more precisely
than before
 Adaptation of northern agriculture for future
climate demands new massive research efforts
in plant production sciences – LUKE’s role
should be strengthened
31.10.2017

19. <<
THANK YOU
www.boreal.fi
31.10.2017