Abstract

EUCARPIA helps Linking the Art and Science of Plant Breeding

Beat Boller, President, EUCARPIA

Plant breeding has always been considered to be both, a science and an art. Knowledge of genetics, reproductive behavior, physiology and agronomy of a plant species have to be coupled with creativity, intuition and the famous “breeder’s eye” in order to result in successful new cultivars. Advances in plant genomics in the broadest sense have brought a new dimension to this. It has become increasingly important to identify those few segments of the accumulating genomic knowledge that are indeed useful for achieving breeding progress. More than ever before, this requires a vivid knowledge exchange and collaborative efforts among disciplines. EUCARPIA, the European Association for Research on Plant Breeding, provides a unique platform for meetings of the whole “production chain” of new plant cultivars. Geneticists share their newest results with plant breeders and field agronomists and discuss their implications for future application in plant breeding. Commercial breeding companies are also present, along with officials of variety testing and protection bodies. EUCARPIA holds regular meetings in 8 crop specific and 3 thematic sections. Every 4 years, a general congress is held, the next taking place 29 Aug to 2 Sep 2016 in Zurich, Switzerland under the topic: “Plant breeding, the art of bringing science to life”.