Page 30 - Breeding and regulatory opportunities, Renaud

Chapter 1

production (Myers, 2014). Some breeding companies depend on the CMS

technique in producing hybrid varieties and this inluences their commitment

to the organic sector. In the irst decade of this century, organic grower groups

in the US began developing their own regionally adapted open pollinated

varieties in order to avoid purchasing varieties bred with techniques not in

alignment with organic principles, and perhaps that were not appropriately

adapted to their agro-ecosystems. Over the lifetime of our study discussion of

the appropriate breeding techniques to use in organic breeding programs has

featured predominantly in the European discourse (Rey, 2009). The issue in the

future could have consequences for other parts of the world, including the US,

especially in light of discussions at the IFOAM General Assembly in 2008 and in

the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB), (the advisory board of the NOP)

in 2013 where the role of CMS derived cultivars in organics was challenged

(Rey, 2009; USDA NOP, 2013). A ban on certain breeding techniques in organic

agriculture would have far reaching consequences for Brassicas, and would

need to be considered in the analysis of an organic broccoli breeding strategy

that is explored in this thesis.

1.4 Research objectives, hypotheses and main research

questions

The overall objective of the research reported in this thesis was to analyze

regulatory and technical challenges in the organic seed and breeding sector,

using broccoli as a model crop and the US as the main location. The research

aimed to analyze the tension between farmers’ and seed companies’ interests

that has been created by the evolving organic seed regulation, and provide

ways forward to develop the organic seed regulation to support the principles

of organic agriculture and future crop improvement. In order to translate the

diverse constraints and needs of organic farmers and other stakeholders involved

in the broccoli seed chain into a strategy for plant breeders, the horticultural

and phytochemical performance of commercially available broccoli cultivars

grown under organic and conventional farming conditions in diferent broccoli

producing areas (Maine and Oregon, US) were analyzed.

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