CEREAL AND WINTER OILSEED RAPE TESTING WITHIN THE

CEREAL AND WINTER OILSEED RAPE TESTING WITHIN THE UK Jennifer Wyatt Head of Agricultural Crops Characterisation

CEREAL AND WOSR TESTING IN THE UK • Introduction: NIAB’s role • Plant variety Registration Plant Breeders Rights (PBR) National Listing (NL) • DUS Testing Cereals Winter Oilseed Rape (WOSR) • Quality Assurance (Certification)

CEREAL AND WOSR TESTING IN THE UK DEFRA: (PVS) Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs PVS: Plant Varieties Rights Office and Seeds Division NLSC: National List Seeds Committee. Includes Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Involved in decision making NIAB: Independent body under contract to Defra

NIAB

AGRICULTURAL CROPS CHARACTERISATION MAIN ACTIVITIES • Variety evaluation (DUS) • Advice to Defra and seeds industry • Training • Seed quality (Certification)

PLANT VARIETY REGISTRATION AGRICULTURAL CROPS Essential for a successful seeds industry Establishes variety ownership Consumer protection EU Directives

PLANT VARIETY REGISTRATION AGRICULTURAL CROPS • Variety registration part of National Listing (NL) Seeds (National List of Varieties) Regulation (2001/3510) Distinctness, Uniformity & Stability (DUS) Value for Cultivation and Use (VCU) • Statutory system required by EU Directives • Eligible Plant Breeders Rights (PBR)

PLANT VARIETY REGISTRATION AGRICULTURAL CROPS • A new variety must be: • Distinct • Uniform • Stable (DUS) : • Offer clear improvement (VCU) To qualify: • National Listing (NL) Eligible • Plant Breeders’ Rights (PBR) • DUS serves dual function: NL and PBR

PLANT VARIETY REGISTRATION PLANT BREEDERS RIGHTS • Encourages development of new varieties • Grants breeders exclusive rights to authorise and control (licence) multiplication and sale of reproductive material. • Essential to breeder that successful variety has PBR • PBR licence includes paying of royalties (BSPB) • Scheme for PBR administered by Defra, PVS (in line with UPOV system)

PLANT VARIETY REGISTRATION UK NL OF AGRICULTURAL CROPS • Variety entered for DUS testing • Final summary report by NIAB to Defra, • Recommendation only by NIAB: pass/fail • Final decision NLSC: pass/ fail • Pass: Variety NL

PLANT BREEDERS RIGHTS UK Varieties entered for UK PBR : 1997/98 2002/03 2007/08 Winter wheat 34 24 4 Spring wheat 3 1 0 Winter barley 28 28 5 Spring barley 27 21 15 Winter oats 3 2 0 Spring oats 3 2 0 Winter oilseed rape 33 31 7 Reduction in numbers: Application directly to CPVO (buy in UK test report) Rights transferred directly to CPVO

CEREAL DUS TESTING Year 1 & Year 2 cereal candidates undergoing test 2007/2008 Winter Spring Total Barley 35 45 80 Wheat 93 9 112 Oats 4 5 9

WOSR DUS TESTING Numbers of varieties in trial 2007/08 Year 1 62 Year 2 and subsequent years 48 Reference samples from variety collection 493

PROTOCOLS USED IN UK DECISION MAKING PROTOCOLS IN ORDER OF IMPORTANCE UPOV Guidelines CPVO Technical protocols National list and Seeds Committee UK Crop Protocols DUS Technical Team (Examination Offices) Cereals: CPVO TP/3/3, TP/19/2, TP/20/1 Rape : CPVO TP/36/1

THE UK DUS TESTING SYSTEM • Characteristics recorded according to species and Technical Protocol (CPVO TP) • After two years data are analysed statistically (either by T test, weightings or COYD) • Candidate variety is recommended as distinct or non-distinct • Uniformity must meet standards • Official description produced approval

DUS CEREAL TESTING • 2 - year recording plots in field • Most characters recorded 1 -9 score • Production of variety descriptions (= legal “definition” of variety, used in certification) • Comparison with other varieties in variety collection • Authentication of DUS submission against VCU submission

DUS CEREAL TESTING VARIETY COLLECTION • Central database holds descriptions for variety collection • Includes: • All varieties on UK National List • All varieties marketed in the UK • All varieties marketed in neighbouring countries • Countries with a similar climate/geography agricultural system

DUS CEREAL TESTING Reference samples from variety collection: Barley Wheat Oats 18 22 12 Used as a control for those characteristics which may be variable e. g ear emergence

DUS CEREAL TESTING Year 1 100 ear rows in plots 1. 6 m long x 1. 6 m wide. three rows 2 x 3 rows x 9 m long

DUS CEREAL TESTING Dried material Density 1 3 5 7 9

DUS CEREAL TESTING NIAB STAFFING Defra : FULL COST RECOVERY FROM BREEDERS Total ear rows 2007/08 = 13, 500 Total plots 2007/08 = 444 Manager : overall responsibility for delivery of reports to Defra, major variety issues Specialists: One full time, two full time: • Drill planning of ear rows and plots • Recording for ‘U’ • Assessment of ‘D’ • Advice to breeders • Preparation of summary results for Defra.

DUS CEREAL TESTING STANDARDS Year 1 Ear rows : Population approx. 2000 plants Population standard =1% Acceptance probability =95% Equivalent to a maximum: 3/100 variant ear rows Not more than 5 variant plants Plots: 5/2000 single variant plants

DUS CEREAL TESTING • • • Mean score given for Yr 1 and Yr 2 Class width to separate varieties Database variety profiles used establish ‘D’ Description produced Permanent record in variety database Awarding of National Listing (PBR)

ANALYSIS OF DUS CEREAL RECORDING Non ‘D’ varieties: • Comparison of archive dried material with non D candidate • If minor differences noted then further test by electrophoresis - SDS Page • Added to the variety database • Awarding of National Listing (PBR)

DUS WINTER OILSEED RAPE (WOSR) TESTING

DUS WOSR TESTING • Growing replicated plots or side-by-side comparisons in the field • Observation, measuring and recording of a series of characteristics • Use of Image Analysis • Comparison with other varieties in variety collection • Production of variety descriptions

DUS WOSR TESTING Drilling: Total number of plots 2007/08= 2100 Three replicates Two randomised Third replicate: • AFP number order • VCU authentications • Seed stock authentications • Side by side comparisons

DUS WOSR TESTING Plots 6 m long, four rows per plot Approx. 220 plants per plot

DUS WOSR TESTING DRILLING Hybrids Conventional varieties • Male & female parental lines Yr 1 & Yr 2 submissions • Maintainer line Any Yr 3 submissions • Reference varieties • F 1 hybrids compared

DUS WOSR TESTING SCORING OF CHARACTERS Plots drilled beginning September • Leaf characters (plot score)- November • Flower characters (plot score & IA) Start March • Mature plant characters (plot score, measurement, IA) June/July

IMAGE ANALYSIS IN DUS TESTING Diagrammatic representation of an OSR cotyledon illustrating the parameters measured by IA. WIDTH LOBE SEPARATION SADDLE LENGTH LAMINA LENGTH POSITION OF MAXIMUM WIDTH OF LAMINA LENGTH LAMINA BASE TO WIDE POINT LAMINA BASE

WOSR DUS TESTING • Two years testing data analysed statistically (COYD @ 2%) • Candidate variety is recommended as distinct or non-distinct • Uniformity must meet certain standards according to species • Characteristics recorded according to Technical Protocol (CPVO-TP/036/1) • Official description produced after NLSC approval

DUS WOSR TESTING UNIFORMITY STANDARDS • 2% off-types allowed for open pollinated lines (95% probability) • 10% off-types allowed for hybrids (95% probability)

DUS WOSR TESTING SUMMARY • DUS Essential part of plant variety protection and National Listing • Certification: Implementation of EU Directives provides robust quality assurance system Research and innovation to drive down costs to breeder/seeds industry Need to push forward new technology in a traditional environment ( genotypic characters- e. g. molecular markers)

DUS: Molecular Markers in DUS testing : Use of molecular markers to predict winter/spring characteristic in barley using Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs)

RESEARCH AND INNOVATION Genetic markers • variety identification/verification • quality control /traceability • food authenticity • labelling • consumer protection Genetic Diversity Cost-effective testing systems –pass on to breeders/ seeds industry

SUMMARY OF TESTING DUS Yr 1 Yr 2 DUS pass Breeders seed NL/PBR Certification generation system multiplication & marketing CERTIFYING AUTHORITY : M. A. F. F. FARM SAVED SEED