Overview of Crop

Improvement Approaches
During the past 100 years, crop improvement came
to rely more and more on biology and laboratory
methods.

In developed countries, research is done by

companies that sell seeds. Developing countries
rely on the International Research Institutes but their
resources are limited.
 Where were our crops domesticated
Mesoamerica: corn, common bean, squash, sweet potato,
tomato, upland cotton
Andean region: potato, common bean, peppers, cassava,
pineapple, pima cotton
African Sahel + Ethiopia: sorghum, African rice, coffee,
okra, melon, cowpea
Near East: wheat, barley, pea, lentil, chickpea, grape,
Eastern India and South-East Asia: mungbean, cucumber,
banana and plantain, eggplant, coconut, tea
Southern China: Asian rice, soybean, citrus, tea, cabbage
 Land races
Relative reproductive isolation and
differing conditions of soil,
nutrients, diseases, insects, water,
day length etc created numerous
landraces of our crops. Landraces
do not have a fixed complement of
genes (alleles) because
subsistence farmers are always
trading seeds and the conditions
change over time (hundreds of
years). All land races of one
species have the same genes
(unless deletions occurred), but
many different alleles =
biodiversity
Corn from different fields
 The rise of agricultural experiment and plant breeding
stations in the 19th Century
Established in 1843, Rothamsted it is the oldest agricultural experiment
station in continuous existence. The Broadbalk wheat experiment has
different crop rotations, levels of fertilizer etc and yields have been
measured for 160 years. Analogous fields in the US are the Morrow Plots
at the University of Illinois, established in 1876.

University of Illinois
Rothamsted Expt. Sta.

Lower right: Remote sensing of crop growth

on the Morrow Plots. Intensities reflect the
level of plant growth/fertilizer application
 The March of Genetic Technology

1860 Mendel: making crosses, introducing genes

1920 Discovery of hybrid vigor
1950 Inducing mutations
1960 Tissue culture and embryo rescue
1980 Plant transformation and GM crops
2000 Genomics (study of all the genes)

Gregor Mendel
 # 1 Introgression of a specific trait
INTER-SPECIFIC CROSS or INTRA-SPECIFIC CROSS
THAT IS NORMALLY FERTILE

Lycopersicon Lycopersicon
esculentum peruvianum

Back-
cross
series
Tomato Cultivar with new trait
# 2 Hybridization: To produce a hybrid strain one starts with
two “inbreds” (strains that have been self-fertilized for several
generations) and then crosses these inbreds. The seeds
resulting from this cross are sold to the farmers. They will
produce bigger plants with larger ears. However, when the
seeds of these ears are planted again the “hybrid vigor” is lost.
We do not yet understand the genetic basis of hybrid vigor.

Inbred Hybrid Inbred

QuickTimeª and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
 Maize is a
Tassel = monoecious plant with
Male flower
Produces pollen
separate male and
female flowers.
This makes it much
QuickTimeª and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor easier to produce
are needed to see this picture.
hybrids because it is
easy to emaculate the
Silks = plants (remove the
Female flower pollen producing
Becomes the ear
tassels) and control
pollination
 Hybrid rice, the result of controlled crossing of two varieties, is
raising rice productivity in Asia and elsewhere.
Farmers cannot get the yield advantage is they save seed to replant,
so the distribution of hybrid seeds is dependent on seed companies.
In Africa most farmers are still too poor to buy the hybrid seeds.

QuickTim eª and a
Photo - JPEG decom pressor
are needed to see this picture.
# 3 Interspecific hybrids with embryo rescue
Triticale, a new “synthetic” cereal,
is a cross between wheat and rye produced by embryo
rescue of the product of fertilization and a chemically induced
chromosome doubling with cochicine

Triticale is now grown all over the

world Wheat, triticale and rye
 #4 Institute of Radiation
Hundreds of cropBreeding
Ibaraki-ken, JAPAN
varieties have been produced
by radiation breeding. Plants or seeds are
Radiation irradiated with gamma rays and their progeny
breeding examined for agronomically useful traits.
This is followed by extensive backcrossing.

100m
radius QuickTimeª and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.

89 TBq
Cobalt-60
source at
the center

Shielding
berm is 24
ft high γ -Radiation Field
# 5 Genetic engineering of plants (creation of GMOs)
relies on a natural gene transfer mechanism by
Agrobacterium tumefaciens from its Ti plasmid to the
plant genomic DNA.
Discovered by Marc Van Montagu and Jeff Schell in Belgium
and by Mary Dell Chilton and Eugene Nester in the USA

QuickTimeª and a
PNG decompressor
are needed to see this picture.

http://www.ejbiotechnology.info/content/vol1/issue3/full/1/bip/
 #6 Genomics, the most recent genetic technology

Genome Sequencing
Important genes identified in one
species (Arabidopsis or rice)
can immediately be recognized in other
species. All this information is public.
Expression Profiling
Determine the expression of thousands
of genes at once on a “chip”
Proteomics
 Where is plant breeding research done
and who does it?
Developed countries
1. Large agricultural biotech companies sell seeds and do research aimed at crop
improvement through genetic engineering and traditional breeding (Pioneer, Dupont,
Monsanto, Bayer). They aim at the crops with big markets (corn, soybeans, potatoes,
wheat, cotton). They own many plant breeding sites.
2. Smaller seed companies produce hybrid vegetable seeds.
3. Universities and public institutions (USDA) do much less plant breeding than
before, but do all the genomics research and gene discovery.
4. Small biotech companies (Mendel, Ceres etc) do gene discovery research.
Where is plant breeding done and who does it?
Developing countries
1. Public domain breeding stations (NARS)
2. C.G.I.A.R. Research Centers

CIMMYT IRRI
Mexico Philippines

The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research has research

centers all over the developing world and employs 8500 scientists and staff,
with a $ 340 million annual budget that has to come from “donors”.
The centers work with local plant agricultural institutions to improve crops
and agric. practices.
 Traditionally, CGIAR centers worked on major crops (rice,
wheat, corn) but now they work with National Agricultural
Research Systems (NARS) and other stakeholders to release
improved varieties of minor crops.

Sorghum in Tanzania Pearl millet in Malawi

Newer is better-sorghum grain yields in 20 on-farm New pearl millet varieties consistently out
trails in Tanzania, 1994/95, show progressive perform traditional varieties in on-farm trials
improvements from "first generation" to "second in Malawi and Tanzania
generation" improved varieties
 Increase in crop yields in different countries
Steady increases in the US started in 1930s with wheat breeding and
corn hybridization. Faster yield rise in India are due to double cropping.
Genetics is key to raising yields in the world. Other inputs (fertilizers,
pest control, irrigation) are also needed
 Genetics, a powerful tool to raise
productivity, but must go hand in hand
with:

1. Agro-ecological system
2. Resilience/fragility of the environment
3. Ability to purchase inputs
4. Reliability of seed distribution system
5. Food preferences
6. Local food distribution system
7. Export market
 Average annual increase in yields of rice, wheat and
maize in developing countries by periods.
(Nature 402, C55 - C58 (1999); Feeding the world in the twenty-first
century. Gordon Conway and Gary Toenniessen)
Costs and benefits of agricultural
research
 Agricultural Productivity Increases

Benefits Costs
• Improved per capita production • Increased soil salinity
• Reduced unit costs and prices and lowered water
• Increased incomes and purchasing tables in irrigated areas
power for farmers and consumers • Exacerbated health and
• Restrained expansion into forests, environmental problems
grasslands, and wildlife habitats, helping
through inappropriate
to avert natural resource degradation
use of fertilizer and
pesticides
• Displaced tenant
farmers may not find
employment.
 New Research
Agenda in the
Developing World

Production is de-emphasized.
More responsive to consumer demand (organic agriculture)
More emphasis on “functional foods”.
More emphasis on precision farming technology.
Developed technologies may not be accessible because of
intellectual property rights (IPR).
Higher proportion of research in biotech companies that
emphasize technologies applicable at home.
Smaller growth in funding than 20-30 years ago.
 Implications
Pardey, Alston and Pigott,
Intl. Food Policy Institute (IFPRI)

1. Less spillover; technologies being developed may not

be appropriate for developing countries.

2. Applicable technologies may not be accessible because

of intelectual property rights (patents)

3. When appropriate and accessible, technologies will

require more development locally and require more
sophisticated scientists.