Contract number

V4-2006

Department:

Department of Agronomy

Type of project

ARIS projects

Type of project

CRP projects

Role

Partner

Duration

01.11.2020 - 31.10.2023

Value of co-financing

€54,230.00

Total

€12,000.00

Project manager at BF

Rudolf Pilih Katarina

ABSTRACT

Seed production is an agricultural sector that forms thebasis for successful and market-oriented economic food production. In Slovenia, seed production has beenstagnating for many years, and in the case ofvegetables it has even been declining. It is necessaryto increase the share of domestic seed production, bothin perspective of food security and maintenance ofbiodiversity in agricultural production. In 2014, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food begansystematically financing the breeding of Slovenianvegetable varieties, within which we succesfully bred several hybrid varieties of cabbage at the BiotechnicalFaculty. The procedures for obtaining hybrid varietieshave been optimized and we can obtain 5-10 newpotential cabbage hybrids every year. The hybridsRožnik and Presnik F1 are already registered in the listof varieties. The final phase of plant breeding is theprovision of a sufficient quantity of seeds for supply,especially for the Slovenian market. Hybrid varietiesare desirable for breeders and consumers, but inSlovenia we do not produce hybrid seeds of vegetablevarieties. Seed production takes place only for localand domesticated population varieties.Within the project we will:

  1. analyze Slovenian seedproduction,
  2. identify suitable areas and partners forseed production,
  3. optimize the procedures for hybridcabbage seed production and
  4. make a comparisonof economic production of hybrid seeds with theproduction of seeds of open pollinated varieties.

For the production of hybrid seeds, two approaches arebeing pursued, which exploit the self incompatibility andthe introduction of cytoplasmic male sterility into theseed line. Based on the results obtained, the successof the crossing will be evaluated using molecularmarkers. These will allow quick and reliabledetermination of heterozygosity of the progeny andthus purity of the seed. We will include few hybridvarieties in the trials, which will be grown at differentlocations throughout Slovenia. In this manner we willobtain information about the suitability of the locations,the suitability of the lines and the methods that are bestsuited to obtain the hybrid. The annual propagation ofthe lines is carried out in vitro using micropropagationtechniques. The seed methods used to obtaingenetically suitable seeds are listed. Effectivetechnological methods are essential for the successfulproduction of healthy seeds with high growth potential.For this purpose the Selection Center Ptuj will beincluded in the task. They conduct maintenanceselection for many years and produce basic seeds ofopen pollinated local cabbage varieties (Ljubljansko,Nanoško, Futoško, Varaždinsko ...). With theirexperience and knowledge in this field, we will optimizethe technology of hybrid and non-hybrid seedproduction, prepare technology sheets, which will bethe basis for the evaluation of the economic efficiencyof production of hybrid and open pollinated varieties ofcabbage.The expected results will lead to the establishment of apartnership for seed production of hybrid andpopulation varieties of cabbage, including the conceptof knowledge transfer between research institutions,seed companies and farms. With cabbage as a modelplant, we want to raise interest in seed production,achieve a higher volume of seed production and thus agreater supply of seeds of Slovenian varieties on the Projectmarket shelves, which will lead to a higher degree ofself-sufficiency and thus to greater food security.


THE PHASES OF THE PROJECT AND THEIR REALIZATION

V4-2006 Fotografija 2

SICRIS link