Breeding for disease resistant crops - phase 2
Project overview
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Short summary
We develop knowledge and methods in plant breeding to advance new varieties of potato, wheat, oats, sugar beet, and red clover. Our goal is new varieties with high disease resistance and strong yields, well adapted to Swedish conditions - from farm to fork.
Resistant crop varieties contribute to improved food quality and a better environment for both people and animals, as they reduce the need for chemical pesticides. Access to disease- and pest-resistant crops also helps to minimise yield losses in situations where alternative crop protection measures are lacking.
This project is conducted as a collaboration between academia and industry, building largely on the results, methods, and materials developed during the first phase of the project. We are undertaking this initiative because the use of crop varieties with high resistance to diseases and pests is a key component of today’s, and even more so tomorrow’s, Swedish food production.
Our work continues to deepen, with a focus on five important crops: potato, cereals (wheat and oats), sugar beet, peas, and red clover. These crops represent different cropping systems, face varying disease and pest challenges, and are the focus of breeding programmes with diverse objectives. This breadth enables us to develop expertise across a wide range of plant breeding methods, from the identification and evaluation of new resistance sources to the development of genetic markers.
We are studying the following plant diseases and pests:
- Late blight in potato.
- Spot blotch, Fusarium head blight, yellow rust, powdery mildew, and aphids in cereals.
- Beet yellows virus transmitted by aphids in sugar beet.
- Downy mildew, Fusarium wilt, and root rot in peas.
- Root rot and clover rot in red clover.
The project aims to build long-term knowledge about the biology and distribution of pathogens and pests, their interactions with host plants, and the resistance mechanisms of our crops. In parallel, we will translate this knowledge into more effective breeding practices, resulting in improved and sustainable crop varieties with high yields, adapted to Swedish conditions and food production systems.
Project coordinators: Magnus Karlsson, SLU och Tina Henriksson, Lantmännen.
Participating organisations: SLU, Lantmännen, Findus, KWS, Nordic Beet Research, Lyckeby/Sveriges Stärkelseproducenter, SolEdits och Potatisodlarna.