Chaingeni Davison, Mukaro Ronica, Sneller Clay, Cairns Jill E, Musundire Lennin, Das Biswanath, Odiyo Olivia, Madahana Sammy, Mazibuko Purity, Mubvereki Washington, Prasanna Boddupali M, Kutywayo Dumisani
Crop Breeding Institute, Agricultural Research, Innovation and Specialist Services Directorate, Harare, Zimbabwe.
Department of Horticulture and Crop Science, The Ohio State University College of Food, Agriculture and Environmental Science, Columbus, OH, United States.
Front Plant Sci. 2025 Jun 3;16:1553272. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2025.1553272. eCollection 2025.
Increasing the rate of genetic gain in breeding programs is a critical component of crop genetic improvement strategies to increase yields in smallholder farmers' fields. While a growing array of technologies and tools are being deployed within breeding programs, optimizing resource allocation could provide a simple yet effective way to increase genetic gain, particularly within resource-constrained breeding programs. The objective of this study was to demonstrate that an easy-to-use deterministic model and a breeding costing tool could identify key modifications to improve the efficiency of breeding within the Zimbabwean national maize breeding program. The current program uses pedigree inbreeding, with a 4-1-1 tester scheme, and relatively low selection intensity. The method of inbreeding, test-crossing schemes, and selection intensity were modified within the current program budget. A combination of using doubled haploid lines, a 2-2-1 tester plan, and increased selection intensity improved gain per cycle by 42.8%, gain per year by 161.8%, gain per dollar by 43.1%, and decreased cost of one unit of genetic gain by 28.5% without a change in budget. Our results highlight how a simple deterministic model can identify steps to greatly improve breeding efficiency within resource-constrained breeding programs.
提高育种计划中的遗传增益率是提高小农户农田产量的作物遗传改良策略的关键组成部分。虽然越来越多的技术和工具被应用于育种计划中，但优化资源分配可能是提高遗传增益的一种简单而有效的方法，特别是在资源有限的育种计划中。本研究的目的是证明一个易于使用的确定性模型和一个育种成本计算工具能够识别关键的改进措施，以提高津巴布韦国家玉米育种计划中的育种效率。当前的计划采用系谱近交法，采用4-1-1测试方案，选择强度相对较低。在当前计划预算范围内，对近交方法、测交方案和选择强度进行了修改。使用双单倍体品系、2-2-1测试计划和提高选择强度相结合，在预算不变的情况下，每个周期的增益提高了42.8%，每年的增益提高了161.8%，每美元的增益提高了43.1%，单位遗传增益成本降低了28.5%。我们的结果突出了一个简单的确定性模型如何能够识别在资源有限的育种计划中大幅提高育种效率的步骤。
