Vegetable Breeding and Genetics
Laboratory of I.L. Goldman
Breeding
An important aspect of our research contributions is the development of improved carrot, onion, and red beet germplasm. These three crops contribute significant value to Wisconsinos vegetable processing industry. The commercial seed industry and growers of these three crops rely on public programs such as Dr. Goldmanos for improved populations and inbred lines to fuel their breeding programs. Our program is the only publicly-funded program breeding red beet in the US and is among a small group of public scientists breeding carrot and onion. In addition, the breeding programs (1) enhance our ability to train graduate and undergraduate students in plant breeding; (2) increase the visibility of our research programs among the various commodity groups; (3) allow for the creation of unique genetic materials that form the essential raw materials of many of our research programs; and (4) allow for new funding opportunities for research programs through the generation of germplasm royalties.
The breeding program is divided into population improvement and inbred development efforts. Population improvement efforts are aimed at increasing the level of key processing and horticultural attributes in breeding populations through field, greenhouse, and laboratory quality and disease screening trials. For example, we screen onion breeding populations for reaction to pink root, Fusarium basal rot, and Botrytis leaf blight as a means of enhancing overall pathogen resistance in these materials. Field screening for performance characteristics such as yield and maturity is accomplished at five locations across Wisconsin. Yearly carrot and beet yield trials are conducted in which breeding populations are compared to elite populations and hybrids under standard production conditions. Roots from all key carrot and beet breeding populations are processed in a canning factory located in the Department of Food Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and evaluated by test panels for organoleptic properties. Each breeding program contains ca. 20 improved populations that serve as a source for extraction of inbred lines. Inbred lines are used in the development of hybrid cultivars in each species, thus the goal of this program is to develop elite inbred lines for use in hybrid combination by the commercial seed industry and by other public breeding and research programs. Seed of promising inbred lines is increased and tested in comparison with standard inbred lines for a minimum of two years in multiple environments. In any given year, 8-10 promising inbred lines are tested in these trials. Promising inbred lines at this stage are also testcrossed to standard inbred testers and the resulting hybrids are grown in comparison with standard hybrid cultivars. In 1997, the first inbred lines from our breeding program were submitted to the Department of Horticulture for release to the seed industry. It is expected that the next five years will see the release of several new inbred lines in each of our three breeding programs.
Future carrot breeding efforts will be directed at improving processing carrot germplasm for nematode resistance using the two genes identified by Wang and Goldman. The carrot program will also focus on improvements in carotenoid content, canned product quality, foliar blight tolerance, and yield. Future directions in the beet breeding program include development of cylindrical monogerm inbred lines for the production of elite monogerm processing beet hybrids; population improvement for betalain pigment concentration; development of novel root color types including orange, pink, white, and strpied variants; and improved seed yielding ability through incorporation of the fasciated character, ffs, The onion breeding program initiated a recurrent mass selection program for early maturity in Northern-adapted yellow storage onion germplasm in 1997. This program will complement other breeding efforts including improvement in Botrytis leaf blight resistance and storability. Efforts are underway to screen onion germplasm for preferential selenium uptake as a means of improving the efficiency of producing seleniferous onion tissue for anticancer applications. In 2003, Dr. Goldman and Dr. K. Parkin (Food Science) were awarded a 3-year USDA-NRI grant to study seleniferous plant tissue as a dietary vehicle for increasing selenium intake from whole foods.