Participatory Plant Breeding: Breeding for Organic and Low-Input Farming Systems

Here at Backyard Seed Savers, we breed for resource use efficiency under low-input (compost only) conditions. We do not exactly experience harsh conditions, but we do have a very short growing season and cool nights. Our summers are dry, so we try to grow crops well-suited to our agroecological niche.

So why not use the results from almost one hundred years of modern high-performance breeding? Well, while some of this material is useful, it can be genetically homogeneous and from a narrow pedigree. The comparison of the wild stallion and the thoroughbred is illustrative here. The thoroughbred is elite in that the parents have been selected according to their breeding value.  Their pedigree has been carefully tracked and optimized for certain ‘quality’ traits. Modern crop varieties are very similar—bred to be responsive to high-input environments and possess certain quality traits. Yield potential is often only realized with optimal fertility and within a managed environment leading to crop failure under marginal conditions. Wild stallions on the other hand tend to be hardy, but vary in their forms providing a breeding ground where new forms may evolve in response to changes in their natural environment. We believe that like a herd of wild animals, a population of heterogeneous plants supports resilience of the whole over the long-term, particularly under low-input farming systems in diverse, and, particularly marginal environments.

We evaluate numerous heirloom types for adaptation to our growing conditions and suggest you source your genetics from as many outlets as possible–keeping in mind agroecological adaptation. Combining desirable types with synergistic phenotypes, for your particular garden ecosystem, will not only be more effective in terms of maintaining genetic heterogeneity (i.e., plasticity) but will also allow conservation and improvement of this genetic diversity utilizing natural selection following an evolutionary plant breeding approach.

Bulk/mass selection with a focus on long-term population management produces heterogeneous and dynamic plant cohorts. These ‘landrace’ varieties do not lend themselves to industrialized production and monoculture. They thrive in a garden ecosystem. This is why backyard seed savers are ideal seed stewards.

The large-scale seed production system that most seed companies rely upon ultimately leads to a degeneration of seed sovereignty, genetic diversity, and specific adaptation to small-scale gardening. One method to maintain diversity and solidarity between seed stewards is Participatory Plant Breeding. For great starter information on Participatory Plant Breeding, please check out the Organic Seed Alliance.