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Specific adaptation and breeding for marginal conditions

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Title Specific adaptation and breeding for marginal conditions
 
Creator Ceccarelli, Salvatore
 
Subject specific adaptation
genotype by environment interaction
low-input agriculture
 
Description Breeding has been very successful in generating cultivars that in favorable environments, and together with large use of fertilizer and chemical control of weeds, pest and diseases, have increased agricultural production several fold. Today the environmental impact of high input agriculture in more favorable environments causes growing concern. By contrast, the impact of breeding in marginal environments has been elusive. The paper discusses evidence showing that the use of breeding principles developed for, and successfully applied, in favorable environments may be the main reason for the lack of breeding progress in marginal environments. Very little breeding work has actually been done in marginal environments, although the theory of correlated responses to selection indicates that selection conducted in good environments or in well-managed experiment stations is not expected to be very efficient when genotype by environment interactions of a cross-over type exist. The assumptions that heritability is higher under good conditions and that there is a carry-over effect of high yield potential are not supported by experimental evidence. If the target environment is below the cross-over point, selection has to be conducted for specific adaptation to that environment. The concept of wide adaptation has more a geographical than an environmental meaning, and it reduces genetic diversity and increases genetic vulnerability. Eventually the issue of genetic heterogeneity versus genetic uniformity is discussed in relation to specific adaptation to marginal environments.
 
Date 1994-01-01
2021-06-18T20:15:04Z
2021-06-18T20:15:04Z
 
Type Journal Article
 
Identifier https://mel.cgiar.org/dspace/limited
Salvatore Ceccarelli. (1/1/1994). Specific adaptation and breeding for marginal conditions. Euphytica, 77, pp. 205-219.
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11766/13249
Timeless limited access
 
Language en
 
Publisher Springer (part of Springer Nature)
 
Source Euphytica;77,(1994) Pagination 205-219