Breeding for micronutrient density in edible portions of staple food crops: conventional approaches

Current and past efforts in breeding for industrial quality (processing, malting, baking, extruding, etc.), as opposed to yield, are reviewed as a prelude to discussion of the criteria that need to be met in breeding programs to improve the nutritional quality of crops for human consumption. In field crops, almost no attempts to improve nutritional value have been made. Recent studies in fact indicate that most criteria can be easily satisfied: existence of sufficient genetic variation, suitable selection methods and markers, workable heritabilities, and compelling reasons for doing so. However, establishing the efficacy in deficient human populations of elite material chosen by simple selection criteria is a major challenge that requires collaboration with human nutritionists. In some cases, developing marketing strategies for nutritionally superior types that may not – by color or other characteristics – appeal to target communities is also an issue breeders must bear in mind. Nevertheless, the fact recently established that desirable traits can be combined with high yield overcomes many obstacles. The widely demonstrated acceptance of new cultivars by farmers, in developing as well as industrialized countries, will ensure high impact of worthwhile improvements in nutritional value. To combine these new traits with high yield will increase the cost of breeding programs considerably, but the benefit–cost ratio is likely to be larger also.