Entwicklung von Maissorten mit spezieller Anpassung an die Bedingungen des Ökologischen Landbaus

Summary

Organic farming has gained in importance in Germany during the past years. Therefore an increasing demand exists for varieties with specific adaptation to this farming system. Hence it becomes necessary for plant breeders to optimize their selection strategy for varieties which meet the requirements of organic farming. For this purpose a research project was conducted at the University of Hohenheim, Institute of Plant Breeding, Seed Science, and Population Genetics in cooperation with the KWS SAAT AG. It was supported by the “Bundesprogramm Ökologischer Landbau” and lasted from April 2004 to December 2006. In the present contribution the results of comparative trials with maize under organic and conventional farming conditions in 2004 and 2005 are reported. It is demonstrated that under organic farming maize genotypes can be evaluated with similar precision as under conventional conditions. However, inconsistent correlations between the two farming systems indicate that the predictability of performance under organic farming from data obtained under conventional farming and vice versa strongly depends on the genetic materials.