Information from the British Society of Plant Breeders Spring 2015Plant Breeding MattersPlant Breeding Matters

A joint initiative between BSPB and themajor UK farming unions (NFU, NFUSand UFU), the FAIR PLAY campaign wasestablished in 2005 to address concernsthat evasion of farm-saved seed paymentswas draining vital income away frominvestment in UK-based plant breeding.

The central objective of the FAIRPLAY campaign is to create a levelplaying-field in which all farmerscontribute fairly for the benefits of usingfarm-saved seed, so safeguarding futureinvestment in the development ofimproved varieties, adapted to the needsof UK farmers and their customers.

Over the past ten years, compliancelevels have improved significantly. Farm-saved seed collections have more thandoubled, and FSS payments now accountfor around a third of the total incomeavailable to support UK breedingprogrammes.

Communication has been at the heartof the FAIR PLAY campaign, focused onraising awareness of the benefits ofcontinued investment in plant breeding,while also ensuring farmers are clear abouttheir legal responsibilities on FSS use,declaration and payment. These messageshave been delivered through a range of

channels, including BSPB’s Plant BreedingMatters newsletter, web-based activity,direct mail and media communications, aswell as the distribution of FAIR PLAYposters and explanatory leaflets atindustry events and conferences.

BSPB has also taken steps to make theFSS declaration and payment processmore straightforward for farmers,including simpler forms, more ways todeclare (post, email, online, fax, phone),and removing the need for farmers tocalculate their own farm-saved seedpayments.

campaign – ten years onSince the FAIR PLAY campaign on farm-saved seed (FSS) was launched by BSPB and the UK farmingunions in 2005, the contribution of farm-saved seed payments to plant breeders’ income has more thandoubled from around £4.5m in 2005 to £10.1m in 2014. Marking ten years of FAIR PLAY, PlantBreeding Matters reviews key developments in the campaign, and highlights some of the breedingadvances safeguarded by the drive to reduce FSS evasion.

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June 2005

FAIR PLAYcampaignlaunched byBSPB andfarmingunions

Autumn 2005

Bespoke FSSdatabaseestablished byBSPB

Spring 2007

Online FSSdeclarationintroducedalongsidepaper forms

Autumn 2007

Newarrangementsfor PreviouslyZero-RatedVarieties(PZRVs)

Spring 2008

BSPBappoints full-time FSSinvestigator

Spring 2011

BSPBsimplifies online FSSdeclarationprocess

Spring 2012

Credit/debitcardtransactionsby telephoneintroduced

Spring 2013

BSPB issuesfirst briefingnote on FSSFAQs

timeline of key developmentsContinued overleaf

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In addition, a number of practicalmeasures have been taken to strengthenthe farm-saved seed payment system,including additional staff resources, majorinvestment in a new farmer database andbetter intelligence about seed and varietyuse allowing more targeted enforcementaction. The system now covers manymore farmers than before, which hasvastly improved its ability to identify andtackle non-compliance.

The following list highlights just someof the breeding advances in combinablecrops over the past ten years which theFAIR PLAY campaign has helpedsafeguard by tackling the gap in FSSpayments:

• HOLL oilseed rape varieties now top-yielding

• Development of non-GN springmalting barleys

• Semi-dwarf oilseed rape

• First oilseed rape varieties withresistance to Turnip Yellows Virus

• Herbicide tolerant oilseed rape• Quality wheat yields now matching

feed varieties • Dwarf husked and naked oats• High oil naked oats• Low vicine/covicine quality in spring

beans• Better standing ability in field peas• Better colour retention in large blue

and marrowfat peas • Pale hilum winter bean yields now

matching black hilum types Welcoming the progress made throughFAIR PLAY in protecting future breedinginnovation, BSPB chairman Dr RichardSummers said:

“Over the past ten years, the FAIRPLAY campaign has promoted acollaborative, industry-wide approach tosafeguarding investment in the new

varieties farmers depend on for improvedyields, quality and disease resistance, andto cope with future challenges such asclimate change and the loss of key cropprotection tools.

“BSPB would like to say a big thankyou, not only to the farming unions fortheir support in delivering the FAIR PLAYcampaign, but also to the many thousandsof farmers who recognise the benefits ofcontinued investment in improvedvarieties.

“Despite improvements in FSScompliance levels across virtually allcrops, it’s important to emphasise theongoing need for the FAIR PLAYcampaign. There is still work to do todeliver 100% compliance, withcommunication and enforcement activitynow more intelligence-led and targeted onspecific crops, regions and farmer types,”added Dr Summers.

Continued progress in plant breeding isessential to keep UK agriculturecompetitive, and the industry is keen toadopt new crop varieties with higheryields, improved quality, better diseaseresistance and agronomic traits. Access tohigh quality, reliable, independent trialsdata is therefore essential to help farmers

and their advisors make informed varietychoices to drive on-farm productivity,profitability and competitiveness.

Within the National List (NL) system,BSPB has a central role in deliveringvariety trials data, operating under officialsupervision by the national authorities.BSPB also works in partnership with thelevy bodies providing Recommended andDescriptive Lists of varieties. This hashelped strengthen the technical relevanceof NL protocols and their compatibilitywith industry-based variety evaluationsystems – it has also helped improve the

overall efficiency of the trials system byremoving duplication, cost andunnecessary red tape.

The NL trials processBefore a new variety can be marketed, itmust undergo a statutory evaluationprocess. National List testing is rigorousand ensures that a variety can only bebrought to market if it is deemed to begenuinely distinct from other varieties andrepresents a significant improvement overwhat is currently available in terms ofyield, disease resistance, agronomy andend-use quality.

Meeting the requirements of NationalListing involves testing that a variety isDistinct, Uniform and Stable (DUS), andthat it offers Value for Cultivation and Use(VCU).

BSPB organises National List VCUtrials for all crop species except potatoes.

Trials are either conducted by BSPBmembers or carried out under contract bythird party organisations such as NIABand SRUC. All trials are grown to officialprotocols and subject to independentscrutiny by the national authorities.

Variety trials are grown in most cases

Variety trials and evaluationData from independent variety trials provide a vital platform to drive progressin UK crop production, underpinning not only the statutory process of NationalListing, but also the Recommended and Descriptive Lists on which mostcommercial cropping decisions are based. BSPB plays a key role in theorganisation and delivery of UK variety trials, as BSPB’s Technical ManagerJeremy Widdowson explains.

Harvestingplots atDSV tomeasureyield andquality ofherbagegrasses

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Hugh and Moira Reeve farm sugar beet,cereals and oilseed rape in partnershipwith their son, Thomas, at Walsham LeWillows, Suffolk. They have been hostingtrials for sugar beet breederSESVANDERHAVE for almost 30 years.

“We started hosting sugar beet trials in1986, when harvested beet was shipped tothe continent in bags for analysis. Sincethen yields have advanced as has the

ability to deliver greater accuracy in thetrials, helped by the use of new technologysuch as GPS guided drills and harvesters.Like new varieties, we see theseinnovations first within the trials and thenadopted across the wider commercial cropover time,” comments Hugh.

“As a commercial grower I have twoobjectives: to support the development ofnew varieties and also to understand how

to get the best from them so I can increasemy profits. Supporting trials helps achieveboth objectives. Regular dialogue with thebreeding team means we’re constantly upto date with new products, pests, diseasesand techniques to optimise ourproduction.”

“In addition to hosting breeding trials,we host one of the four BBRO/BSPB yieldtrials managed by SESVANDERHAVE.

RL trial grower – sugar beet case studyThe success of sugar beet breeding in the UK is built on reliable trials to tune genetic selections to ourunique maritime environment. The ability to deliver consistent, replicable trials data is only possible withthe support and collaboration of host growers. Their farming experience and local knowledge are essentialelements that all breeders rely on, yet their contribution is often overlooked. Hosting trials can involveextra work and disruption to normal farming activities. It can also require patience for host growersdealing with plant breeders and trials contractors. So why do growers host trials?

for a minimum of two years, across arange of geographical locations, withmany different characters assessed tocheck in-field performance and end-usequality against benchmarkvarieties.

The evaluation process isdemanding – in winter wheat,for example, more than 30individual characters areassessed and only around 25%of varieties entered make it ontothe NL.

In addition to VCU trialscoordinated by BSPB, DUStesting is contracted directly bythe national authorities to trialsorganisations such as NIAB,SASA and AFBI. For some cropspecies, DUS testing may becarried out in another EUMember State.

Recommended and Descriptive ListsThe data generated from National Listtrials also form a vital component ofindustry-led variety evaluation systems.

In cereals and oilseeds, for example,NL data supplied by BSPB provide thebasis on which Recommended Listcandidates are selected, and account foraround half the data requirements todetermine which varieties ultimately gainRecommended status.

BSPB works in partnership with thelevy bodies and other industryorganisations through collaborationagreements to produce the annualRecommended and Descriptive Lists ofvarieties: with HGCA, nabim and MAGBfor cereals and oilseeds; with BBRO forsugar beet; and with AHDB and HCC for

herbage. It also produces Descriptive Listsof independent comparative trials data forforage maize and turf grasses.

Since National Listing is operated on afull cost-recovery system, fundedby breeders, BSPB’s in-kindcontribution to the HGCARecommended List for Cerealsand Oilseeds in preliminary data,personnel and expertise is valuedat £2.15 million per year. This underlines the importanceattached by UK plant breeders tothe process of variety evaluation,and its role in ensuring farmersreceive a guarantee of varietyidentity and performance andthat their decisions are based onhigh quality, commercially andtechnically relevant data, tailoredto their farming needs and thedemands of their customers.

In 2014 BSPB organised tests and trials of 3,616 candidate varieties of 21 different crops at a total cost to the plant breeding industry of £7.7million.

Samples arriving from BSPB wheattrials at RAGT UK

Breeders inspect the BSPB herbagegrass trials at IBERS Aberystwyth

Specialist small-scale equipment is needed for varietytrial plots

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We also benefit from access to thecommercial control plots, which providesa useful field check on every seed lotsupplied by British Sugar and helps usrelate directly to our own commercial lotsand treatment combinations,” explainsHugh.

The BSPB/BBRO Recommended andNational List trials are carefully designedto provide a direct comparison betweenthe 120 or so sugar beet varieties undertest. The system seeks to eliminate asmany variables as possible, for example:

• trials are gapped to ensure a consistentnumber of plants per plot – the aim isto judge the difference in geneticpotential not the physical seed qualityor seed treatment;

• indicator strips of a Rhizomaniasusceptible variety are sown tohighlight if Rhizomania is present inthe trial field. Soil samples from trialsites are also tested for BCN;

• seed treatment is standardised toponcho beta and seed is pelleted withthe standard Germains “plus” pelleton their R&D line, as often earlygeneration material may not beavailable at a commercial scale forprocessing;

• also, unlike the commercial crop, noneof the trials seed is primed as thiswould introduce another variable onsmall trials lots.

SESVANDERHAVE’s Trials & ResearchManager Richard Robinson emphasisedthe vital role of trial growers in supportingcontinued breeding advances:

“Hugh, Moira and Tom have becomean extension of our R&D family. For us itmeans we have experts on the ground who

know their fields, soils and localenvironment – there’s no substitute forthat. When you’re managing a trialsprogramme on a national scale it’s vital toreceive local advice and experience.Without the commitment of professionaltrial growers providing good quality,reliable data we would not have witnessedthe same degree of varietal improvementin recent years, and the whole industryowes a debt of gratitude for theircontinued support.“

Genome sequencingThe wheat genome is massive andcomplex – comprising more than 120,000genes it is five times larger than the humangenome. Despite its complexity, however,a first draft sequence of the wheat genomewas released in June 2014, with a fullycompleted sequence expected within thenext two to three years. Once in place,this will provide a wealth of informationabout the number, location and functionof wheat genes, unlocking newopportunities for targeted wheatimprovement.

Markers and genomic selectionMarker-assisted selection is now routinelyused in most commercial breeding

programmes, enabling plants to bescreened prior to field testing using geneticmarkers associated with key traits. Theuse of genomic selection, however, alreadywidely used in modern livestock breeding,is a relatively new development for plantbreeders. Rather than using geneticmarkers for a few specific traits, genomicselection uses many markers dispersedacross the whole genome to predict thebreeding value of individual plants, andpromises to drive up the speed andaccuracy of varietal improvement.

GM and genome-editingThe role of GM wheat in new approachesto biocontrol was recently trialled atRothamsted Research, using GM wheat

Innovations in wheat genetics –coming shortly to a field near you?Global concerns over food security and climate change have brought a new focus in public sector R&Dfunding on more applied and translational research objectives such as crop improvement. Genetic progressin wheat, as the UK’s most significant arable crop, has benefited particularly. Guest contributor Dr PhilHowell, who leads the wheat pre-breeding team at NIAB, provides his assessment of the developments inwheat genetics likely to make the biggest contribution to improved varieties over the next few years.

Hugh helps to harvest a sugar beet trial on his farm into a modern mobile tarehouse

Continued overleaf

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plants modified to express an aphid-repelling pheromone. We should expect tosee more UK-based field testing, althoughcommercial GM wheat varieties mayremain some years away.

A raft of new techniques, collectivelyreferred to as ‘genome editing’, arebecoming commonplace in the laboratory,offering more precise and targeted changesthan established GM methods. Forexample, Chinese scientists recently usedgenome editing to alter the wheat TaMLOgene, successfully turning mildewsusceptibility into resistance withoutchanging any other attributes. Althoughcrop varieties developed using genomeediting are not considered to be GMOs inthe US, it remains unclear how the EU willregulate these emerging technologies.

Pre-breedingPre-breeding transfers the findings offundamental research into material usableby commercial breeders. The BBSRC-

sponsored Wheat Improvement StrategicProgramme (WISP; www.wheatisp.org)brings together several leading academicteams to increase the genetic diversityavailable to UK breeders. Many breedingcompanies now also employ ‘researchbreeders’ to integrate the best leads frompublic research collaborations into theircommercial programmes.

Wide crossing and resynthesisCrosses between wheat and its relativeshave been very important to UK wheatbreeding. The close relative Emmer Wheat(Triticum dicoccoides) has been a valuablesource of genetic diversity. Work begunover 30 years ago ultimately led to Gatsby,Glasgow, Robigus, Shamrock, Stigg andTimber – the parents or grandparents ofover half the current UK RecommendedList. The Pch1 gene from BarbedGoatgrass (Aegilops ventricosa) has beenthe leading source of eyespot resistance inUK varieties from Rendezvous in the1990s through to Skyfall, Revelation andGrafton today.

Wheat resynthesis repeats thenaturally-occurring wide cross that led tothe domestication of wheat 10,000 yearsago. NIAB’s pre-breeding programme hasexploited resynthesis, firstly using materialdeveloped at CIMMYT in Mexico, andlatterly through its own programme ofresynthesis, leading to the development ofpre-breeding lines showing appreciableyield increases and other potentiallyvaluable agronomic traits.

Remote sensing and high-throughputphenotypingRemote sensing, whether through aerialdrones or ground-based platforms, can beused to map field effects and cropdevelopment on a farm scale, while specialresearch glasshouses such as the NationalPlant Phenomics Centre at Aberystwythtrack the development of individual plantsby recording tiny changes on a daily basis.

The information generated through thesesophisticated assessments will give a betterunderstanding of crop developmentthrough the season, which in turn shouldhelp breeders to optimise varietyperformance and yield stability.

F1 hybridsHybrid wheat has of course been triedbefore, but recent advances in geneticshave provided new tools to overcome theproblems of hybrid breeding in wheat, andwe are likely to see commerciallysuccessful F1 hybrid varieties within thenext decade. Hybrids should bring greateryield potential and increased yield stabilitythan inbred varieties, with thisimprovement generally exaggerated underlower inputs or in conditions of stresssuch as heat, drought or waterlogging.Goatgrass (Aegilops ventricosa) has

been a leading source of eyespotresistance in UK varieties

Synthetic hexaploid wheat

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British Society of Plant Breeders LtdBSPB House, 114 Lancaster Way Business Park, ELY CB6 3NXTel +44(0)1353 653200 Fax +44(0)1353 661156Email enquiries@bspb.co.uk Website www.bspb.co.uk

Q. I have started contract farming aneighbour’s land. I have a profit share inthe final crop – why can I not use myfarm-saved seed on this land?

A. It is against the law to transferfarm-saved seed from one holding toanother for sowing. Any transaction –whether free, bartered or charged –constitutes a transfer of ownership andis against the law.

Q. I want to try growing a cover crop.Can I get some pea seed from the farmernext door? It is not going to produce aharvested crop.

A. No. Regardless of whether a crop istaken to harvest, the seeds regulationsand farm-saved seed rules apply. Youmust use either certified seed purchasedfrom a licensed seed merchant or farm-saved seed produced on your ownholding. In the case of farm-saved seed,if you are using an eligible variety theFSS payment will be due on sowingregardless of whether the crop is takento harvest.

Q. Why do I keep getting reminder lettersfrom BSPB with red ink on them?

A. The regulations allow 28 days for thereturn of information from our firstrequest. When your declaration is threemonths overdue we will politely remindyou of this with a letter, using red ink todraw your attention to the request foroutstanding information.

Q. I want to declare farm-saved seed butcan’t find the name of the variety that Ihave used on the list of eligible varieties.What should I do?

A. First check whether the full name ofthe variety that you want to declare has aprefix, e.g. KWS Santiago, NFC Tipple, SYVenture, ES Astrid. Varieties are shown onthe list in alphabetical order, including theprefix so you need to look for KWS Cassiaand not ‘Cassia’. The full variety name willbe on the bag label and invoice of theoriginal certified seed stock used to producethe farm-saved seed. If you still cannot findthe variety please contact the FSS team on01353 653209 or email fss@bspb.co.uk.

Q. Where can I find the payment ratesfor eligible varieties?

A. Payment rates for combinable cropsare displayed on the BSPB website athttp://www.bspb.co.uk/farmsavedseed/combinable-crops-payment-rates-and-eligible-varieties.php.

BSPB does not publish payment ratesfor FSS potatoes, which are determinedby breeders individually andindependently for each eligible variety.Email emma@bspb.co.uk or call BSPBon 01353 653200 if you wish to knowthe payment rates for the potatovarieties you are growing.

Q. Why do you send out twodeclaration forms per year?

A. The farm-saved seed paymentrequirement is triggered when use ismade of an eligible variety, i.e. when it isused for sowing. BSPB collects farm-saved seed payments twice a year tocapture payments from the two sowingseasons, autumn and spring.

Farm-Saved Seed FAQs

BASIS points are now available for reading Plant Breeding Mattershttp://basis-reg.co.uk/register/event.aspx?id=39923&root=profreg

10-11th June 2015

BSPB will be at the CerealsEvent 2015 with a plant breedingdisplay within the HGCA area.Visit us to find out more aboutwhy plant breeding mattersThe BSPB farm-saved seed team at Ely

Members of the BSPB farm-saved seed team at Ely are on hand to help with any queries on seed use andthe FSS declaration process. In 2013, BSPB issued a briefing note responding to some of the questions mostfrequently asked by farmers and their advisers. This is available on the farm-saved seed section of the BSPBwebsite. Some more recent queries received from farmers are answered below.