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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Madison, Wisconsin » U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center » Dairy Forage Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #406067
Research Project: Improving Forage Genetics and Management in Integrated Dairy Systems for Enhanced Productivity, Efficiency and Resilience, and Decreased Environmental Impact

Location: Dairy Forage Research

Title: A synopsis of cover crop breeding techniques

Author
item Kucek, Lisa
item Riday, Heathcliffe
item MOORE, VIRGINIA - Cornell University
item AYRES CARVALHO, MARCELO - Embrapa
item MAJOR PITTA, RAFAEL - Embrapa
item Witt, Travis
item ZWINGER, STEVE - North Dakota State University
item BASTOS MARINS, LAIS - Corteva Agriscience

Submitted to: ASA-CSSA-SSSA Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/30/2023
Publication Date: 10/30/2023
Citation: Kucek, L.K., Riday, H., Moore, V., Ayres Carvalho, M., Major Pitta, R., Witt, T.W., Zwinger, S., Bastos Marins, L. 2023. A synopsis of cover crop breeding techniques. ASA-CSSA-SSSA Proceedings. October 29-November 1, 2023.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Cover crop use has increased in recent decades, now covering similar land area to major crops like alfalfa and spring wheat. Selection of genotypes best suited to cover crop use has begun to support this growing industry. A review of international breeding efforts will include cereal rye, triticale, hairy vetch, winter pea, crimson clover, buckwheat, Brachiaria, Stylosanthes, and Cajanus. Primary traits of interest for cover crops include fast establishment, soft seed, early vigor, low shattering, biomass, forage quality, flowering time, and seed yield. Bulk selection has been the most common breeding method used for these crops. While bulk selection can be effective for higher heritability traits like winter hardiness, pedigree or marker-based systems improve genetic gain for most traits. Multi-environment selection and trialing are key to identifying top-performing lines for biomass, due to large genotype-by-environment and genotype-by-management interactions. Results from the Cover Crop Breeding Network show the effectiveness of a coordinated, decentralized, and data-rich pipeline.