Yield, yield stability and farmers’ preferences of evolutionary populations of bread wheat: A dynamic solution to climate change

• Published in: European journal of agronomy 2020-11, Vol.121, p.126156, Article 126156
• Main Authors: Bocci, Riccardo, Bussi, Bettina, Petitti, Matteo, Franciolini, Riccardo, Altavilla, Virginia, Galluzzi, Gea, Di Luzio, Paolo, Migliorini, Paola, Spagnolo, Sandra, Floriddia, Rosario, Rosi, Giuseppe Li, Petacciato, Modesto, Battezzato, Vincenzo, Albino, Andrea, Faggio, Giovanni, Arcostanzo, Carlo, Ceccarelli, Salvatore
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biodiversity; Climate change; Directional selection; Evolutionary plant breeding; Farmers' preferences; Heterogeneous plant populations; Landraces; Local adaptation
• ISSN: 1161-0301; 1873-7331
• DOI: 10.1016/j.eja.2020.126156

•Participatory evaluation of bread wheat populations and mixtures in 15 environments.•Some evolutionary populations out yielded one improved variety.•Evidence for divergent selection was demonstrated for plant height and grain yield.•Farmers’ selection increased yield and stability of an evolutionary population.•Women and men preferences were both unrelated to grain yield. The role of biodiversity in plant breeding needs to be reconsidered to cope with the complexity, location specificity and combined challenges of climate change, human population increase, human health and food security, safety and sovereignty. From a biological viewpoint, heterogeneous plant populations derived from evolutionary plant breeding may address most of these grand challenges. Field trials were conducted over four years and four locations under organic farming conditions to test the hypothesis that evolutionary populations planted in contrasting locations, evolve adapting to the local conditions and becoming distinct from one another. The experiment also included mixtures, landraces and a modern variety of bread wheat. The results show evidence of divergent selection for grain yield under the sole effect of natural selection by which the best performing evolutionary populations yielded as much or more than the commercial variety. Farmers' selection within one of the evolutionary populations was effective in improving yield and yield stability above those of the original population across years and locations. Farmers' preference was not always associated with grain yield and was not gender dependent. We conclude that evolutionary populations are able to gradually evolve, adapting to each environment in which their seed is multiplied, reaching high and stable yield levels thus ensuring income to farmers, both as seed and as grain.