Abstract: Farmers need sustainable cultivars to increase food supply and value with less production land, animals, and inputs. Next generation plant and animal breeders face climate change adaptation and mitigation challenges. These challenges need to be addressed with opportunities for significant reduction of environmental impact developing cultivars less addicted to fertilizers and soil moisture needs. Sustainable breeding can help balance agriculture with the environment. Sustainable breeders need to integrate long-term pre-breeding activities with cultivar development efforts providing farmers options to comply with environmental regulations. Good choice of germplasm is still the most important decision. The most sophisticated tools will have limited success if poor choices of germplasm are made. Seed companies need capable breeders developing the next generation of sustainable cultivars while public institutions need to mentor sustainable breeders capable to not only broadening and improving unique germplasm but also developing new cultivars carrying desirable traits. Graduates mentored in breeding programs integrating these needs will be selected for industry jobs without need for re-training. Sustainable breeders will need to operate in new breeding centers located in strategic environments for faster genetic improvement ahead of climate changes. Key factors for developing useful and unique sustainable cultivars will be the adaptation of exotic germplasm and the maximization of its genetic improvement before cultivar development through public and private partnerships. Inbreeding, genetic divergence, and reciprocal recurrent selection programs will continue to be essential to purify cultivars and exploit heterosis in economically important species.

Abstract Maize (Zea mays L.) inbred lines are under restricted use, protected by Patent and Plant Variety Protection (PVP) laws. Research objectives were i) to identify and validate heterotic groups and patterns, and ii) to determine if ex-PVP lines are useful for continued genetic progress in short-season environments. Three groups of crosses were made following North Carolina Mating Design II (NCII) including 12 NDSU, 24 ex-PVP lines, and seven current industry testers. Hybrids were planted in four different experiments at six ND environments following partially balanced lattice experimental designs in 2011 and 2012. Top heterotic patterns were selected based upon grain yield and other agronomic traits. Our research indicates most ex-PVP lines are genetically narrow and may not be immediately useful. Less protection (5-yr vs. 20-yr) might increase usefulness of ex-PVP lines. This change in intellectual property will allow public breeders to develop better versions of industry lines carrying known weaknesses.

Milho se tornou uma alternativa rentável para os agricultores e pecuaristas de North Dakota (ND). No entanto, os híbridos desenvolvidos pela indústria do Norte dos EUA ainda não têm tolerância ao frio e a seca, bem como não tem a adequada qualidade do grão para produtos como etanol e alimentação animal. Portanto, é necessário aumentar o valor das operações de alimentação animal antes e depois da utilização do etanol. O programa da North Dakota State University (NDSU) iniciou o desenvolvimento de híbridos que apresentem alto conteúdo de proteína através do projeto de milho precoce com alto conteúdo de proteína de qualidade (EarlyQPMF). O Programa da NDSU atua como um fornecedor genético para empresas de sementes básicas, companhias varejista de sementes, indústria de processamento, e melhoristas, nacionais e internacionais. Nos últimos 10 anos, NDSU obteve nove certificados de proteção (PVP) de milho e lançou 38 produtos de milho. Dentro desses, 13 linhagens foram lançadas, exclusivamente, para uma empresa de sementes básicas para fins comerciais. Alem disso, dois híbridos foram identificados para a produção comercial na região central e ocidental de North Dakota.

Maize has become a profitable alternative for North Dakota (ND) farmers and ranchers. However, U.S. northern industry hybrids still lack cold and drought stress tolerance as well as adequate grain quality for ethanol and feedstock products. Moreover, there is a need to increase the value of feedstock operations before and after ethanol utilization. The ND maize breeding program initiated the development of hybrids with high quality protein content through the Early Quality Protein Maize for Feedstock (EarlyQPMF) project. The North Dakota State University (NDSU) maize breeding program acts as a genetic provider to foundation seed companies, retailer seed companies, processing industry, and breeders nationally and internationally. In the past 10 years, NDSU was awarded 9 PVP maize certificates and released 38 maize products. Within those, 13 inbred lines were exclusively released to a foundation seed company for commercial purposes. In addition, 2 hybrids were identified for commercial production in central and western ND.

Bilhões em dólares e em cultivos estão sendo desperdiçados, seja durante a secagem de grãos ou ainda devido à suscetibilidade à seca, ao frio, à condições salinas de cultivo e ao processamento de grãos de baixa qualidade. O milho é um modelo de cultivo para adaptação a mudanças no clima. O melhoramento para adaptação é mais eficiente quando é conduzido em condições de desafios ambientais nas quais os genótipos mais adaptados são prontamente identificados e os mais estáveis são selecionados. O programa de melhoramento de milho da Universidade Estadual de Dakota do Norte (NSDU), nos Estados Unidos, está estrategicamente localizado para desenvolver produtos sob condições de clima extremo. Esse programa atualmente aproveita os ambientes do norte dos Estados Unidos que permitem avaliar germoplasma para caracteres de adaptação importantes como produção. O programa dá ênfase em adaptação de germoplasma e sua integração com o desenvolvimento de cultivar, particularmente aquelas que possuem alelos singulares que não estejam presentes nos genomas B73 e NAM. Projetos que enfoquem as demandas presentes e futuras por genótipos superiores que sejam tolerantes a mudanças climáticas nos Estados Unidos e em várias parte do mundo são vitais para a pesquisa agrícola.

Billions of dollars and crops are being lost to drying high moisture grain; drought, cold, and salt susceptibility; and to processing poor quality grain. Maize is a model crop for adaptation to climate changes. Breeding for adaptation is best done under challenging environmental conditions where strengths and weaknesses are quickly identified and most stable genotypes are selected. The North Dakota State University (NDSU) maize breeding program is strategically located to develop products under extreme weather. It currently exploits northern U.S. environments that allow screening for adaptation traits that are as important as yield. The program focuses on germplasm adaptation and its integration into cultivar development, particularly those carrying unique alleles not present in the B73 and NAM genomes. There is a need for projects that are vital to agricultural research and will meet present and future demands of superior genotypes tolerant to climate changes in the U.S. and abroad.