Plant breeding technology supporting more sustainable food production
With every challenge, we hope for a solution
As we enter 2023, three major challenges impacting farmers and food production include the EU Green Deal targeting the reduction in the use of chemical pesticides, changing climatic conditions, and increasing input costs.
These challenges are putting pressure on crop yields in Europe. To alleviate food safety and supply concerns, we see plant breeding as one big part of the solution. Whether it is the trend of hybridization in all crops, nitrogen use efficiency or traits that provide plants with disease resistance, everything is aligned to produce quicker gains in yield in a more sustainable way.
As an example for a quick adoption of a trait, the graphic below shows the spread of TuYV (turnip yellow virus) resistant and tolerant varieties across Europe in harvest year 2022. Will herbicide-tolerant varieties come back to Western Europe? Will hybridization finally step out of the rye shadow in cereals? We are tracking these developments through our unique yearly crop based FarmTrak farmer panels.