FIELD CROPS

PARTICIPATORY PLANT BREEDING FOR FIELD CROPS

Our Participatory Plant Breeding (PPB) program is the only of its kind in Canada. Working closely with the University of Manitoba and other research institutions since 2013, we have been supporting farmers across Canada to develop new varieties of wheat, oat, and potatoes that are adapted to organic and ecological farming conditions. 

Farmers who have participated in this program are now at different stages of variety development. Some farmers have completed several years of selection and are now growing out their crops for use on their own farm or for direct markets; others have offered it to the University of Manitoba for trialing, or for variety registration; some are continuing to select on their own farms. Certain PPB lines of wheat and oat have performed well enough that they are being included in official variety registration trials. Research indicates that some of the lines developed through this program have shown strong and adaptive performance in organic growing systems, and many of the participating farmers have been inspired to learn and engage more with plant breeding and on-farm selection. 

Thank you to our funding partners, Agriculture and Agri Food Canada’s Organic Science Cluster: 2013-2021 (wheat and oat, nationally); and Ministère de l'Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l'Alimentation: 2021-2024 (potatoes, Quebec)