Page 251 - Breeding and regulatory opportunities, Renaud

Summary

broccoli breeding strategy must consider both the priority traits deined in a

crop ideotype and the allowed breeding techniques in organic agriculture. A

multi-prong market and breeding capacity approach must be considered to

support a growing organic seed sector.

The sustainability of current seed production for the major food crops on which

global food security currently depends, is increasingly a matter of practical,

professional and policy discussion. The work reported in this thesis indicates

that the experience of the organic seed sector is relevant to these debates in

important ways. In particular, conventional seed companies in the future may

see advantage of having an organic division that might prove mutually inspiring

and proitable, and traits of high priority for organic agriculture on the short-

term might be of beneit to conventional agriculture in the long run as they

strive to develop cultivars with characteristics that contribute to sustainable

production systems and improved nutritional quality.

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