Issue No 12, July 1999.

NOTICE: Hard copies of the Australian New Crops Newsletter are available from the publisher, Dr Rob Fletcher. Details of availability are included in the Advice on Publications Available.

29. Breeding New Crops

Dr Rob Fletcher
School of Land and Food, The University of Queensland Gatton College
Gatton, Queensland, 4345 Australia

[This invited presentation was made to the 10th Australian Plant Breeders Conference held in Adelaide, South Australia, 19-23 April 1999. It was used to introduce a session on Breeding New Crops. The presentation itself is also linked.]

Since 1950, cotton, lupin, mushroom, sunflower, broccoli, soybean, melon, canola, triticale, avocado, macadamia, chickpea, mango, kiwifruit and almond have been new to Australia. New crops have accounted for 67% of the increase in the value of Australian crop production in the period 1950-92. Plant breeding has made a significant contribution to this achievement.

Unfortunately, many of the potential new crops being considered for Australia cannot boast the knowledge background and practical support base from overseas that was available for most of these recently developed crops. For example, the Australian bushfood industry has identified up to thirteen species as warranting commercial development. For each species, the industry must itself develop suitably commercial products that large numbers of people wish to purchase and use and production systems that generate consistent supplies of product of an appropriate and stable quality. Suitable genotypes must be found to achieve these ends.

Rather than generating new genetic combinations for every situation, plant breeding can make a significant contribution towards placing new crop industries on a more substantial footing by defining the commercial characteristics of these plants, demonstrating how these can be assessed and evaluating the variability already available to the new industry.

It must be easier initially to find a good genetic combination than to create it.

The area of new crops development attracts continual and ever-increasing interest amongst primary producers, entrepreneurs, the media and the general public. Unfortunately, much of this interest is associated with the spectacular nature in which so many new crops schemes have failed.

Breeders with an interest in the successful commercialisation of new crops have an opportunity to encourage the identification and description of the new crop product to be marketed, as part of the determination of breeding objectives.

However, a review of past and present new crop development in Australia has revealed that successful new crop 'breeding' is more concerned, initially, with the selection and propagation of superior materials from among germplasm currently available within Australia or imported from overseas, than with the creation of new genetic combinations.

Breeding comprises selection amongst genetically variable materials, with or without prior directed hybridisation or genome manipulation, with a view to changing measurable traits that will improve the plant's performance when the plant is used as a crop.

A new crop is a crop new to an area.

Breeding new crops should not be viewed solely as the generation of new genetic variability in under-utilised species, followed by attempts to find a use for it.

Plant breeders can make a significant contribution towards the successful establishment of commercial new crops industries by:

• defining the commercial characteristics of the 'new' plants,
• demonstrating how these traits will be objectively evaluated and
• determining the extent of the genetic variability already available to the new industry.

Between 1950 and 1992, cotton, lupin, mushroom, sunflower, broccoli, soybean, melon, canola, triticale, avocado, macadamia, chickpea, mango, kiwifruit and almond were developed from the status of being new crops in Australia to being successful commercial industries here (Wood et al., 1994; Figure 1). Over this period, 67% of the increase in the gross value of Australian crop production was from new crops (Wood and Fletcher, 1998).

Figure 1. The annual value of production (in $ million) for the fifteen most successful new crop industries developed in Australia since 1950 (Wood et al., 1994).

Wood et al. (1994) established that the most important factor contributing to success of new crops was plant improvement, which included germplasm introduction as well as the generation of and selection among genetic variability.

However, plant improvement took longer to make an impact than any of the other factors, including mechanisation, pest and disease control, agronomy, marketing and so on.

The most successful of these new crop industries in Australia, cotton, was initiated during this period by American immigrants who imported germplasm and technology into Australia to take advantage of the release of large areas of irrigated land (Ferguson and Fletcher, 1999). Australian-bred varieties subsequently supported the industry's growth.

As with cotton, all the new crops in Figure 1 sourced their initial genetic material from overseas, along with some form of production, processing and marketing technique. In each case, products were already being traded at least somewhere overseas.

Breeding of these new crops in this country usually comprised astute observation and selection amongst imported germplasm on the basis of observed differences, with appropriate propagation and testing of progeny, before any directed genetic manipulations commenced.

Much of the new crop development currently underway in Australia involves selection and/or propagation. This activity is occurring in the following crop groups (with a few examples of specific crops included in parentheses; common names only have been used where appropriate, to save space):

Agroforestry (Acacia, Paulownia, Sandalwood etc),
Australian native food (please see below),
Bamboo,
Beverages (Coffee, tea(s), Herbal infusions etc),
Cereals (Pearl millet etc)
Culinary spices, herbs and condiments (Basil, Capers, Chilli, Condiment paprika, Coriander, Cumin, Dill, Lotus, Pandan, Paprika, Rosemary, Rue, Saffron etc),
Essential oil crops (Backhousia citriodora, Boronia, Callitris sp., Cypress pine, Eucalyptus, Fennel, Lavender, Lemon grass, Leptospermum, Palmarosa, Patchouli, Pelargonium, Peppermint, Sandalwood, Spearmint, Tea tree etc),
Fibres (Flax, Industrial hemp, Kenaf, Ramie, Roselle, Sisal, Sesbania, Sunn hemp etc),
Floriculture crops (Australian natives, Bursaria, Filipendula, Geraldton wax, Grevillea, Nerine, Rice-flower Thalictrum etc),
Forage (Bitter vetch, Centrosema spp., Desmanthus spp., Echinochloa turnerana, Hymenachne sp., Tagasaste, Zizyphus spp. etc),
Fruits (Black sapote, Carambola, Casimiroa (White sapote), Cherimoya, Durian, Jaboticaba, Keriberry, Labrusca grape, Longan, Lychee, Mangosteen, Olives, Pepino, Persimmon, Pitaya, Pomegranate, Quince, Starfruit etc),
Industrial crops (Crambe, Guayule, Jojoba, Meadowfoam etc),
Landscape species,
Legumes (Butterfly pea, Cowpea, Faba bean, Fenugreek, Guar, Lathyrus sp., Lima beans, Lupinus albus, Moth bean, Morama bean, Narbon bean, Rough-seeded lupin, White lablab etc),
Medicinal herbs (Aloe vera, Dong quai, Echinacea, False unicorn root, Ginseng, Licorice, Passionflower, St John's wort, Taxus sp., Valerian etc),
Nuts (Atherton nut, Cashew, Hazelnut, Macadamia etc),
Oilseed crops (Niger seed, Safflower etc),
Pesticide crops (Neem, Pyrethrum etc),
Root crops (NZ yam, Sweet potato, Taro, Yam etc),
Soil stabilising crops (Vetiver grass etc),
Starch crops (Cassava etc),
Sugar and sweetener crops (Sugar beet, Stevia rebaudiana etc),
Vegetables (Bok-choy, Bunching onion, Burdock, Chinese cabbage, Choi-sum, Chrysanthemum garland, Culinary soybean, Dai-kon, Eggplant, Gai-lum, Okra, Perilla, Snow peas, Sugar snap peas, Water chestnut, Wasabi, Water chestnut etc),
Windbreak crops, among others.

Specific breeding for improving certain traits is also occurring in many of these new crops. Breeding programs are already underway in the following crop groups:

Cereals and pseudocereals (Buckwheat, Grain amaranth etc),
Forages,
Legumes (Adzuki bean, Black gram, Culinary beans, Lentils, Pigeon pea etc),
Oilseed crops (Linola, Mustards, Sesame etc).

Unfortunately, many of these new crops currently being developed in Australia cannot boast the extensive backgrounds overseas that were available for the crops in Figure 1. In particular, the Australian native foods ('bushfoods') are mostly without product precedents or readily applicable commercial production techniques anywhere in the world.

The Australian native food industry has identified at least thirteen plants warranting commercial development:

Acacia victoriae (etc), Elegant Wattle
Acronychia acidula, Lemon aspen
Backhousia citriodora, Lemon myrtle
Eremocitrus glauca, Wild lime
Kunzea pomifera, Muntries
Microcitrus spp, Rainforest lime
Podocarpus elatus, Illawarra plum
Santalum acuminatum, Desert quandong
Solanum centrale, Bush tomato
Syzygium leuhmannii, Riberry
Tasmannia lanceolata, Mountain pepper
Terminalia ferdinandiana, Kakadu plum
Tetragonia tetragonoides, Warrigal greens

For each species, the industry must itself develop suitably commercial products that large numbers of people wish to purchase and use and also develop production systems that generate consistent supplies of product of an appropriate and stable quality.

Suitable genotypes must be found to achieve these ends. Plant breeders can assist in this regard by characterising the genetic variability already available.

The creation of new genetic variability offers a technical challenge to breeders but seems to be premature when the criteria which describe the new crop product to be commercialised have not yet been defined by the market.

In terms of defining the commercial characteristics of the 'new' plants, demonstrating how these traits can be assessed and evaluating the variability already available to the new industry, two examples can demonstrate aspects of this approach, as pursued by the New Crops Group at Gatton:

Brett Shearer (Shearer, 1993) and Dr Felipe dela Cruz (Dela Cruz and Fletcher, 1996) have examined, over three seasons, the production of cashews (Anacardium occidentale) in each panicle for each quadrant of all the original seed-derived cashew trees planted at Cashews Australia, west of Cairns in Far North Queensland. From these data, the variability in cashew kernel production was described both within and between trees and an approach described to identify potentially high yielding trees. Using the method, four superior cashew trees were identified (Dela Cruz, 1997).

Johnny Hojmark-Anderson (Hojmark-Anderson, 1995) used an Optimax droplet scoring system originally developed for monitoring herbicide droplet size and distribution to evaluate the oil gland size, frequency and distribution on the surfaces of the leaves of a tea tree (Melaleuca alternifolia) planted in a park near Ipswich, west of Brisbane. By comparing distributions of gland sizes observed over a range of heights, aspects, diurnal periods and several other sampling variables, he was able to recommend a method for sampling the quantity of oil in tea tree.

Traditionally, much of the government-funded new crop industry development has been driven by research supply (Ferguson and Fletcher, 1999) rather than producer/industry demand. With funding becoming oriented more towards successful commercial outcomes, there is a need to incorporate all components of the supply chain in the planning of new crop industry development, if such outcomes are to be achieved. Plant breeders can play an important role as facilitators of this process.

To this end, Thirteen Points of Commercialisation (Fletcher et al., 1998) have been developed in collaboration with the new crops industry:

1. The proposal of the new industry by those willing to commit themselves financially to such development

2. The acknowledgement that new industry research is inherently a high risk venture

3. The recognition of the need to protect intellectual property rights

4. The assessment of the marketing potential of the new industry's product using all criteria published, identifying those criteria for which no information is available

5. A theoretical assessment of the production potential of the new industry using all criteria published, identifying those criteria for which no information is available

6. The establishment of an integrated development group comprising producers, processors, distribution and marketing teams with research providers, initially, in a facilitation role, only

7. Agreement within the group of resource requirements, expected outcomes, action plans to achieve them, and distribution of any profits

8. The establishment of a process of project monitoring to identify and resolve problems quickly and efficiently

9. The establishment of economic benchmarks and an agreement to abandon the project once these have not been met

10. The establishment of a system of review to place on record the circumstances under which the project was successful or failed

11. Trial production for trial marketing

12. Trial production for trial processing and packaging

13. Experimental production.

A constructivist model using action learning has been used in a New Crops Do Our Own Marketing Research Course and Manual (Fletcher et al., 1998) which has been developed to achieve Step 4, that is, the identification of new crops options which warrant the commissioning of Business and Marketing Plans.

Experience over the past two years of using this approach with industry groups has indicated that a very high proportion of new crop development proposals are not commercially viable because they have no product that the market requires or is likely to require, in the short to medium term.

A market-oriented approach, combining the development of selection criteria with the description of the new crop product in demand in the market, is likely to be the most commercially successful initial approach to the breeding of new crops in the future. Naturally, once the industry is established, further improvements are likely to accrue from genetic manipulations targeted at specific limitations.

In most cases, it must be easier initially to find good genetic combinations already in existence in the natural habitat of each species than to create them.

Grateful acknowledgement is made of the contributions of the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation and the Grains Research and Development Corporation through the funding of Project UQ-33A (1993-8).

As well, the collaboration and contributions of many colleagues and industry partners is acknowledged, in particular Greg Ferguson, Gerry Kregor and Chai McConnell, and representatives of the Queensland Grain Growers Association, Queensland Fruit and Vegetable Growers, Queensland Department of Primary Industries, New South Wales Agriculture, CSIRO Tropical Agriculture St Lucia, Toowoomba TAFE, Australian Rainforest Bushfood Industry Association, Cooloola Native Flower Growers Association and many private companies and individuals.

Dela Cruz, F. and Fletcher, R.J. (1996) Identification of superior cashew trees for Northern Australian conditions. In 'New Crops, New Products. New Opportunities for Australian agriculture'. Proceedings, First Australian New Crops Conference, The University of Queensland Gatton College, July, 1996. (Imrie, B.C., Bray, R.A., Wood, I.M. and Fletcher, R.J., Eds.). RIRDC Research paper 97/21, 2: 203-10.

Ferguson, G.M. and Fletcher, R.J. (1999) Establishing new crop industries: Alternative approaches. Australian New Crops Newsletter 11: 13-18.

Fletcher, R.J., Twyford-Jones, P., Blessing, P., Sadler, T., Kregor, G., Ferguson, G., McConnell, C., Davidson, A., and Walker, N. (1998) New Crops DOOR Marketing: Do Our Own Marketing Research. New Crops Group, The University of Queensland Gatton College. 254pp.

Hojmark-Anderson, J. (1995) Investigation of the oil gland frequencies on the surface of tea tree leaves (Melaleuca alternifolia). BApplSci Final Year Study Project.

Shearer, B. (1993). Formulation of a sampling procedure for use in flower and fruiting studies in cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.). BApplSci Final Year Study Project.

Wood, I.M. and Fletcher, R.J. (1998). Allocating resources for research and development between and within new rural industries. Proceedings New Rural Industries 1998 Conference, Perth, October 1998. http://www.agric.wa.gov.au/programs/new/newrural/IWood_RFletcher.htm

Wood, I.M., Chudleigh, P.D. and Bond, K.A. (1994). Developing New Agricultural Industries: Lessons from the Past. RIRDC Research Paper Series No 94/1, Rural Industries Rural Research and Development Corporation, Canberra.

Contact: Dr Rob Fletcher, School of Land and Food, The University of Queensland Gatton College, 4345; Telephone: 07 5460 1311 or 07 5460 1301; Facsimile: 07 5460 1112; International facsimile: 61 7 5460 1112; Email: r.fletcher@mailbox.uq.edu.au

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originally created by: GK; latest update 17 October 2001 by: RF