This webinar took place on March 25, 2022. Presented by Laurie McKenzie and Micaela Colley of the Organic Seed Alliance, Philipp Simon of the USDA ARS, and Solveig Hanson of the University of British Columbia.
About the Webinar
Join us for a webinar to learn fundamental concepts and strategies that are key to successful carrot breeding work. The presenters will cover basic genetics, color expression, trait expression and selection, and demonstrate how to cut, evaluate, and select roots from a diverse array of orange and rainbow colored roots. Specific topics that will be addressed:
- Which traits are straightforward to select for and which are not (more complex)
- Strategies to tease out environmental effects from genetic expression
- Basic color genetics - which colors are dominant and “easy to fix and work with” and which are more challenging
- When to stop - traits that are very difficult or “impossible” to select out or away from
- A word about male sterility - how it works in carrots (it’s naturally occurring) and what to do if, or when, it shows up
- Root evaluation, selection, and storage
Resources from the webinar
- Download the webinar slides here!
- Link to the Carrot Improvement for Organic Agriculture project, funded by NIFA OREI: https://eorganic.info/carrotimprovement
- Join the Carrot Breeding Network on the Organic Seed Commons
- 40th International Carrot Conference, Mt. Vernon, Washington, August 29-30, 2022
- How to Breed Carrots for Organic Agriculture, Organic Seed Alliance
- Quick Reference: Carrot Seed Production, Organic Seed Alliance
- Principles and Practices of Organic Carrot Seed Production in the Pacific Northwest, Organic Seed Alliance
- Carrots!- A webinar from September 2020 focusing on carrot seed production and breeding in Canada, and links to additional resources including a Carrot Seed Saving Factsheet
- Trial Results on SeedLinked (create an account to view them)
Funding for this webinar is provided by a NIFA OREI grant: Carrot Improvement for Organic Agriculture: Leveraging On-farm and Below Ground Networks. This research is also part of Organic Science Cluster 3, led by the Organic Federation of Canada in collaboration with the Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada at Dalhousie University, supported by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's Canadian Agricultural Partnership - AgriScience Program, and by The Bauta Family Initiative on Canadian Seed Security.
