EUROPEAN-SEED.COM I EUROPEAN SEED I 15 He says the ESA believes that the best way to approach such a discussion is to ensure the appropriate use of terminology and to maintain choice for growers to use varieties developed from different breeding programmes. AMBITIOUS PLAN The BRESOV project is ambitious as the selection of pre-breed- ing/breeding lines for the three species will be undertaken in organic vegetable farming systems, utilizing an annual crop rotation scheme. New cultivars will be selected for efficiency when grown under water, temperature and nitrogen stress, for resistance to some pests and diseases, for desirable product quality and traits such as taste, visual appearance, post-har- vest performance. There are many other breeding efforts out there, trying to provide climate resilient varieties in crops. What sets this project apart from the rest? Organic farmers have less choices available to fight pests and diseases, and this is foreseen to be a crucial limiting factor to mainstream organic production. Rouillard says that in this project, the genetic variation will be investigated by exploiting up-to-date knowledge of genome structure and function. This work will be enhanced by the active involvement of farmers, advisory services, research institutes, breeding companies and food processors from diverse geograph- ical and climatic contexts in Europe and non-EU Countries. Crop genetic diversity will be broad as several landraces and crops wild relatives provided by partners will be utilized in pre-breed- ing and breeding activities. “BRESOV will adopt an innovative approach where plant traits related to the roots-zone, and to root-growth, and archi- tecture that enable a better interaction with organic soil and its microbiome are sought to benefit to the end-users.” The project will be using landraces and wild relatives, for which the breeding to commercial varieties will take consid- erably longer. The BRESOV project hopes to ensure that the available genetic resources and bred-germplasm, combined with the best on farm management practices will enhance resource efficiency and productivity. Rouillard says they want to offer new varieties adapted to the organic farming standards and with good productive performance. Christophe Rouillard