Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 100 Page 101 Page 102 Page 103 Page 104 Page 105 Page 106 Page 107 Page 108 Page 109 Page 110 Page 111 Page 112 Page 113 Page 114 Page 115 Page 116 Page 117 Page 118 Page 119 Page 120 Page 121 Page 122 Page 123 Page 124 Page 125 Page 126 Page 127 Page 128 Page 129 Page 130 Page 131 Page 132 Page 133 Page 134 Page 135 Page 136 Page 137 Page 138 Page 139 Page 140 Page 141 Page 142 Page 143 Page 144 Page 145 Page 146 Page 147 Page 14894 / SEEDWORLD.COM DECEMBER 2016 MUTATION IS THE source of all life. Without mutation, mankind would not exist. Starting from the first unicellular organism, mutation has created all the different plant and animal species and within each of those species a lot of diversity. Plant breeders use this diversity to create all those wonderful new plant varieties that we so desperately need to provide suf- ficient and nutritious food for all. Without diversity there can be no plant breeding. Plant breeding is the art and science of changing the traits of plants to produce desired characteristics, ben- eficial to mankind. And this is accomplished with the help of many different techniques ranging from simply selecting plants with desirable characteristics for propagation, to more complex molecular techniques. But to select something that is better than what was there, diversity is necessary. So, plant breeders use and create diversity on an ongoing basis. They do this mainly by crossing plants and sub- sequently selecting among the offspring, and often with the help of a whole range of different techniques, such as inducing mutations and introducing different genetic traits through special techniques. Plant breed- ers have to cope with a great diversity of genetic char- acters determining yield, quality and a whole number of other breeding targets of the crop. Making the right choices is critical, as with an increasing number of traits to select for, the time and plant material that is required also increases. At the same time, with increasing traits, the response to selection is likely to decrease. And it does not end there. Within many crops, there are different uses. A wheat variety that is perfect for making bread may not be suitable for pastry. The plant breeder has to keep many different quality objectives in mind. Once the variation is created, the plant breeder is then con- fronted with a wide array of diversity and is challenged to select the right plants with which to continue within each of the different breeding programs. My professor of plant breeding used to say: “Plant breeding is the art of throwing away!” For a plant breeder to decide what can be thrown away, a con- stant stream of information is needed about consumer preferences with the aim of identifying the relevant genetic traits, to quantify their economic importance and adjust breeding objectives if necessary. Creating a new plant variety takes seven to 12 years, and in certain crops even longer. Plant breeders have to make assumptions about what consumers will want 15 to 20 years from now. He will need to look into his crystal ball and predict what the consumer’s tastes and preferences will be. However, such preferences vary due to changes in income, market supply of food prod- ucts, information and technology. And these changes happen within a time scale that is far shorter than the time it takes to create a new variety. This requires a constant adjustment of breeding objectives. But back to diversity: only by creating sufficient diversity and selecting the right plants to go forward can plant breeders develop better seed for a better qual- ity of life, bringing economic, environmental and health benefits. Plant varieties that are resistant to drought and disease guarantee harvest security by reducing the risk of crop failure and thus supporting sustainable agricul- ture and global food security. When we talk about food security, this is strongly linked to hunger. In Europe and North America most people enjoy sufficient food that is safe, nutritious and affordable. But this is not always the case in the rest of the world. To get a good impression of the global fight against hunger, take a look at the Global Hunger Index (GHI). Each year, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) calculates GHI scores to assess progress, or the lack thereof, in decreasing hunger. Those who have followed the development of global hunger of the past decades will have noticed that the level of hunger in developing countries as a group has fallen by 27 percent since 2000. In 1990, there were still 17 countries in the “extremely alarming” category; this category disappeared in 2015. While the world has made progress in reducing hunger, the state of hunger is still “serious” or “alarm- ing” in 52 countries. IFPRI is one of the research centers of the CGIAR Consortium, a worldwide partnership engaged in agricultural research and development. The Consortium has 15 research centers and many research programs. All the major global gene banks are all part of the CGIAR Consortium, and these genebanks are crucial to preserving the genetic diversity in crops. SW THE ART OF THROWING THINGS AWAY MARCEL BRUINS Former secretary- general of the International Seed Federation, Marcel is staying close to the seed industry and providing Seed World with news and information from other continents. “Plant breeders have to make assumptions about what consumers will want 15 to 20 years from now.” — Marcel Bruins