Term Paper on Participatory Plant Breeding | Programme | Plant Breeding

Here is a term paper on ‘Participatory Plant Breeding’. Find paragraphs, long and short term papers on ‘Participatory Plant Breeding’ especially written for school and college students.

1. Term Paper on the Definition of Participatory Plant Breeding
2. Term Paper on the Features of Participatory Plant Breeding
3. Term Paper on the Types of Participatory Plant Breeding
4. Term Paper on the Stages of Participatory Plant Breeding
5. Term Paper on the Objectives of Participatory Plant Breeding
6. Term Paper on the Role of Farmers in Participatory Plant Breeding
7. Term Paper on the Degrees of participation in Participatory Plant Breeding
8. Term Paper on the Advantages of Participatory Plant Breeding

Term Paper # 1. Definition of Participatory Plant Breeding:

Plant breeding programmes involving scientists, farmers and others such as consumers, marketers, processors’ and policy makers refer to Participatory Plant Breeding (PPB). In -other words, participatory plant breeding is a breeding programme in collaboration with breeders, farmers, consumers, industry etc.

Participatory plant breeding increases intra-cultivar variability. There is a large increase on no. of cultivars. In participatory plant breeding hybridization techniques are used in breeding methods. It has more impact in increase in cultivar number over large area.

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Term Paper # 2. Features of Participatory Plant Breeding:

The main features of participatory plant breeding are presented below:

i. PPB involves breeders, farmers, consumers and processors in the development of new crop cultivars.

ii. Participatory Plant Breeding is also called as Collaborative Plant Breeding (CPB), Farmer Participatory Breeding (FPB) and Participatory Crop Improvement (PCI), All these terms are interchangeably used.

iii. The participatory crop improvement is subdivided into two areas, viz. Participatory Varietal Selection (PVS) and PPB. The PVS refers to selection within stable (homozygous) lines or populations involving farmers. The PPB deals exclusively with segregating material.

iv. In PPB, the testing of advanced generation breeding material is carried out at both research station and farmers fields. The crossing is done on research station where F₁ and F₂ generations are also grown. From F₃ onwards, the material is tested both at Research Farm and farmers fields.

v. At farmers fields, the yield testing of segregating material begins three years after making a cross i.e. from F₃ onwards.

The material is tested in three different trials as follows:

(a) Farmers Initial Trials (FIT):

These trials are conducted as un-replicated with large plot size (12-15 m²). The number of FIT in each village depends on number of farmers willing to participate in the trial.

(b) Farmers Advanced Trials (FAT):

The breeding materials selected from the-FIT are yield tested in FAT using local check. The plot size is 45 m² to produce enough seed to plant the selected entries on larger plots in the third stage. The number of FAT in each village depends on the number of farmers willing to participate in the trial. In each village same set of entries is tested. The FAT are conducted in a variety of soils and managements.

(c) Farmers Elite Trials:

The entries selected from the FAT are then tested in these trials with a plot size twice as large as the FAT (90 m). These trials are conducted using local check which may vary from village to village.

vi. The best entry thus identified is released as a variety for specific areas by the variety release committee.

vii. The users have a research role in all major stages of breeding and selection process. The farmers can give their input at any stage. Thus users become co-researchers.

viii. Farmers and other users help in:

(a) Setting over all goals,

(b) Determining specific breeding priorities.

They can make crosses, screen germplasm entries in the pre-adaptive phase of research, take charge of adaptive testing and lead seed multiplication and distribution process.

ix. PPB is very much useful in developing crop cultivars for unfavourable conditions and remote areas.

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Term Paper # 3. Types of Participatory Plant Breeding:

The participatory plant breeding is of two types, viz.

(i) Formal led PPB and

(ii) Farmer led PPB.

These are discussed below:

(i) Formal Led PPB:

The breeding programmes initiated by research stations and later joined by farmers refer to formal led PPB. Researchers or specifically breeders run such programmes and invite farmer participation in formal research. The expenditure of conducting research is born by the research organization. The breeding objectives are also decided by researchers.

(ii) Farmer Led Participatory Plant Breeding:

When the breeding is initiated by farmers and scientists have to support them in selection and seed maintenance, it is called farmer led PPB. In this, farmers decide their breeding objectives in consultation with researchers. The entire expenditure of conducting experiments is born by the farmers. The farmer led PPB has the objective to provide varieties or populations suitable for specific local environment.

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Term Paper # 4. Stages of Participatory Plant Breeding:

These stages are given below:

i. Setting Breeding Objectives:

Breeding objectives are decided for solving problems of common interest of the farmers.

ii. Generating Variation through Crossing:

The new variability is created by crossing between selected parental lines.

iii. Selecting in Segregating Populations:

The selection is made in segregating populations to develop new varieties for specific situations.

iv. Variety Testing and Characterization:

The material selected from segregating populations is tested for yield performance and other economic characters in different trials and the best entry is identified for release.

v. Popularization and Seed Production:

The new variety is popularised by conducting demonstrations. The seed multiplication is carried out to make available seed of new variety to the farmers of the region for which variety has been released. Farmers input can be incorporated in any of the above five stages of breeding. It is not possible in traditional breeding programmes.

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Term Paper # 5. Objectives of Participatory Plant Breeding:

The objectives or goals of participatory plant breeding are decided jointly by researchers and farmers.

The major goals of participatory plant breeding are given below:

i. Enhancing biodiversity and germplasm conservation.

ii. Increasing production and profitability through development and enhanced adoption of improved (suitable) varieties.

iii. Providing benefits to a specific type of user or addressing the needs of a broad range of users.

iv. Building farmers skills to enhance farmer selection and seed production efforts.

The participatory plant breeding programmes should be implemented under following situations:

i. Areas that are not dedicated to large scale crop production such as tribal areas and remote areas where traditional breeding schemes are not in operation.

ii. Marginal crop production areas, where environments are highly variable so that selection based on G x E interaction is not the best selection strategy.

iii. Areas where agriculture is risk prone, complex and require low input. For such situation heterogeneous breeding populations have to be developed.

iv. Areas where crop end uses are diverse and/or locally unique.

v. Areas, where important major crops exists Put are not the focus of formal plant breeding efforts.

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Term Paper # 6. Role of Farmers in Participatory Plant Breeding:

Farmers play very important role in PPB. They play key role in management, input and information supply and skill building.

These are briefly discussed below:

i. Management Role:

Farmers provide technical and social leadership in PPB. Farmers help in deciding what type of varieties are to be developed to suit specific environment and farmers need. For example, they help in developing suitable varieties for low input conditions (remote areas) and moisture deficit conditions. Farmers help in selection of representative sites for testing of breeding material on farmers fields. Farmers also provide information about varietal preferences, desirable traits and plant types required for cultivation in a participation area.

ii. Input Supply Role:

In PPB, farmers play important role in making arrangement of various inputs for conducting plant breeding trials at their fields.

They help in providing following inputs:

(a) Farmers provide representative sites (land) for testing of breeding material,

(b) They help in arranging labour required for land preparation, sowing, intercultural operations and harvesting of experimental material.

(c) Farmers help in providing fertilizers, manures and insecticides at the village level.

(d) They provide land races for use in further breeding work.

(e) They provide their input during selection process.

iii. Skill building Role:

Farmers also play key role in skill building. The breeders provide training to a group of farmers in the adopted village. Then farmers give this training to other farmers in the same village or adjacent villages and thus help in skill building.

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Term Paper # 7. Degrees of participation in Participatory Plant Breeding:

Ans. In practice, three degrees of participation, viz.:

(i) Consultative,

(ii) Collaborative and

(iii) Collegial are found.

These are explained below:

(i) Consultative:

When information is obtained from farmers and other clients to start participatory plant breeding programmes, it refers to consultative degree of participation. In the global PPB programmes, the most frequently observed degree of participation is consultative. It is required in setting breeding goals.

(ii) Collaborative:

Collaborative participation means that there is task sharing between researchers and breeders as defined by the formal research programme. This is second most frequent type of participation observed in plant breeding programmes.

(iii) Collegial:

It means that researchers support a farmer initiated, farmer managed programme. Such programme is directly accountable to farmers and other client groups with a stake in the results of germplasm development.

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Term Paper # 8. Advantages of Participatory Plant Breeding:

Participatory plant breeding has several advantages. Important advantages of participatory plant breeding are briefly presented below:

i. PPB is most appropriate for developing cultivars for low input and high stress conditions.

ii. PPB permits incorporation of farmers input at all the stages of plant breeding.

iii. Farmers are able to decide which varieties better suit their needs and conditions.

iv. PPB gears up the speed of developing new varieties for the farmers,

v. It leads to rapid adoption of the new varieties by the farmers. In PPB the new varieties are first adopted by the farmers and then released. In traditional breeding, first the variety is released and then adopted by the farmers.

vi. The seed of new varieties is multiplied in sufficient quantity before release so that the seed can be made available to the farmers.

vii. Varieties developed by PPB have greater biodiversity that can provide protection from biotic and abiotic stresses.

viii. In PPB, varieties are released only after monitoring their acceptance by farmers through an initial adaptation. The seed of these trusted varieties is then multiplied.

ix. In PPB, users have a research role in all major stages of breeding and selection.

x. Plant breeders can direct their research according to needs of the specific group of farmers (women, men, rich and poor). Socio-economic conditions of different people require different cultivars/hybrids.

xi. The on farm research ensures that varieties will perform well under farmers fields (real life conditions). Moreover, on farm testing can be easily managed by breeders and farmers.

xii. PPB is useful in increasing knowledge and skills of farmer. As a result farmers can participate more actively in such programmes.