Resources for Organic Plant Breeding

Publications by NOVIC Project Members

Baseggio, M., Murray, M., Wu, D., Ziegler, K.N., Chamness, J., Buckler, E.S., Hamilton. J.P., Buell, C.R., Vatamaniuk, O.K., Buckler, E.S., Smith, M.E., Baxter, I., Tracy, W.F., & Gore, M.A. 2021. A genome-wide association study reveals an independent genetic basis of zinc and cadmium concentrations in fresh sweet corn kernels. G3-2021-402240. Available at https://doi.org/10.1093/g3journal/jkab186
Brzozowski L and Mazourek M. 2018. A Sustainable Agricultural Future Relies on the Transition to Organic Agroecological Pest Management. Sustainability. 10:2023. Available at https://doi.org/10.3390/su10062023
Colley, M.C., 2022. Advancing organic agriculture utilizing participatory plant breeding, action learning, and a systems approach.; Ph.D. Dissertation. Wageningen University; Netherlands, November, 2022. Available at https://edepot.wur.nl/578477
Colley, M.C., J.C. Dawson, C. McCluskey, J.R. Myers, W.F. Tracy and E.T. Lammerts van Bueren. 2021. Exploring the emergence of participatory plant breeding in countries of the global North – a review. Journal of Agricultural Science. Available at https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021859621000782.
Colley MR, Tracy WF, Lammerts van Bueren, ET, Diffley M and Almekinders CJ. 2022. How the Seed of Participatory Plant Breeding Found Its Way in the World through Adaptive Management. Sustainability 14(4), 2132. Available at https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/4/2132
Grumet, Rebecca, James D. McCreight, Cecilia McGregor, Yiqun Weng, Michael Mazourek, Kathleen Reitsma, Joanne Labate, Angela Davis, and Zhangjun Fei. 2021.Genetic resources and vulnerabilities of major cucurbit crops. Genes 12.8: 1222. Available at https://doi.org/10.3390/genes12081222
Hislop, L.M. 2022. Genetic associations of endosperm carbohydrate composition and sugarcane mosaic virus resistance in sweet corn (Zea mays.) Plant Breeding & Plant Genetics Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Wisconsin Madison. Available at https://www.proquest.com/openview/089122968e1ed8c545fdb4f299acfb0a/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y
Hislop, L., Stephanie, E., Flannery, P.J., Baseggio, M., Gore, M.A, & Tracy, W.F. 2021. Sugarcane Mosaic Virus Resistance in the Wisconsin Sweet Corn Diversity Panel. Journal of American Society for Horticultural Science. J. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci. 146(6):435 444. Available at https://doi.org/10.21273/JASHS05097-21
Hultengren R. 2017. Establishing breeding priorities and developing cultivars for organic vegetable growers in the Northeast. Cornell University Masters thesis.
Hultengren RL. Wyatt LE, Mazourek M. A Suite of High-Quality Butternut Squash. HortScience. Available at https://journals.ashs.org/hortsci/view/journals/hortsci/51/11/article-p1435.xml
Colin K. Khoury, Daniel Carver, Heather R. Kates, Harold A. Achicanoy, Maarten van Zonneveld, Evert Thomas, Claire Heinitz, Robert Jarret, Joanne A. Labate, Kathy Reitsma, Gary P. Nabhan, Stephanie L. Greene. 2020. Distributions, conservation status, and abiotic stress tolerance potential of wild cucurbits (Cucurbita L.). Plants, People, Planet 2.3. 269-283. Available at https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.10085
King, R. 2019. Breeding Snap Beans for Organic Agriculture: Genomic Shifts Under Different Agricultural Management Systems. Master's Thesis. Available at https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/graduate_thesis_or_dissertations/kp78gn560?locale=en
King, R.M. and J.R. Myers 2020. Genomic shifts in different agricultural management systems. Annu. Rept. Bean Improv. Coop. 63:63-64.
Labate, Joanne A. 2021. DNA Variation in a Diversity Panel of Tomato Genetic Resources. Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science 146.5: 339-345. Available at https://journals.ashs.org/jashs/view/journals/jashs/146/5/article-p339.xml
Labate, Joanne A., Jeffrey C. Glaubitz, and Michael J. Havey. 2020. Genotyping by sequencing for SNP marker development in onion. Genome 63.12. 607-613. Available at https://doi.org/10.1139/gen-2020-0011
Lammerts van Bueren, E.T. and Myers, J.R. 2011. Organic Crop Breeding. Book. John Wiley & Sons.
Li, Jian, et al. 2022. Novel Sources of Resistance to Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici Race 3 Among Solanum pennellii Accessions. Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science 147.1: 35-44. Available at https://journals.ashs.org/jashs/view/journals/jashs/147/1/article-p35.xml
Lyon, A. H. Evaluating for Resilience: Participatory variety trials and seed systems for Wisconsin's organic vegetable farms. PhD diss., University of Wisconsin-Madison. Defended 19 June 2015. Advisor: Erin Silva.
Lyon, A. H., E. M. Silva, J. Zystro, and M. M. Bell. 2015. Seed and Plant Breeding for Wisconsin's Organic Vegetable Sector: Understanding Farmers Needs. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems. 9: 601-624. Available at https://doi.org/10.1080/21683565.2015.1017786
Lyon A, Tracy W, Colley M, Culbert P, Mazourek M, Myers J, Zystro J, Silva EM.2019. Adaptability analysis in a participatory variety trial of organic vegetable crops. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1742170518000583
Mabry, Makenzie E., Sarah D Turner-Hissong, Evan Y Gallagher, Alex C McAlvay, Hong An, Patrick P Edger, Jonathan D Moore, David A C Pink, Graham R Teakle, Chris J Stevens, Guy Barker, Joanne Labate, Dorian Q Fuller, Robin G Allaby, Timothy Beissinger, Jared E Decker, Michael A Gore, J Chris Pires "The evolutionary history of wild, domesticated, and feral Brassica oleracea (Brassicaceae)." Molecular biology and evolution 38.10 (2021): 4419-4434.
Mason, T. 2019. An Evaluation of Yield and Quality Characteristics for Vegetable Crops Grown Under Organic Management. Ph.D. dissertation, Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO. Available at https://mountainscholar.org/handle/10217/219603
McCluskey, C. & Tracy, W.F. (2021). Engaging Farmer Stakeholders: Maize Producers: Perceptions and Strategies for Managing On-Farm Genetic Diversity in the Upper Midwest. Sustainability, 13: 8843, https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/16/8843/htm
Moore, Virginia M., 2019. Corn earworm resistance mechanisms in sweet corn: husk length, maysin content, and applications in organic systems. Ph.D. Dissertation. University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Moore, Virginia M. and Tracy, William F. 2020. Combining ability of husk extension, maysin content, and corn earworm resistance. Journal of American Society of Horticultural Science, 1(published ahead of issue), pp.1-10. Available at https://doi.org/10.21273/JASHS04974-20.
Moore, Virginia M. and Tracy, William F. 2020. Survey of organic sweet corn growers identifies corn earworm prevalence, management, and opportunities for plant breeding. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems. Available at https://doi.org/10.1017/S1742170520000204.
Hayley Park, 2022. Evaluation and breeding for improved performance of Phaseolus vulgaris in organic systems M.S. OSU June 2022.
Park, H.E., R.M. King, and J.R. Myers. 2022. A case for breeding organic snap beans in an organic selection environment. Annu. Rept. Bean Improv. Coop. 65:31-32.
Parkinson, A.E. 2022. Investigation of the Harvest Window of sh2-i/sh2-r su1/su1 Sweet Corn (Zea mays.) Plant Breeding & Plant Genetics MS Thesis. University of Wisconsin Madison
Revilla, P., Anibas, C.M. & Tracy, W.F. 2021. Sweet Corn research around the world 2015-2020. Agronomy 11(34). https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11030534
Selman, L. and J.R. Myers. 2015. Breeder to seeder to eater synergies. HortScience 50(9):S301.
Selman, L., A. Stone and J.R. Myers. 2015. Incorporating sensory evaluations into organic vegetable variety trials. HortScience 50(9):S328-S329.
Solemslie, R., du Toit, L.J., Tracy, W.F., & Stearns, T. (2021). Evaluation of steam treatments for Fusarium spp. and other fungi on sweet corn seed. Plant Disease Management Reports 15 (CF017).
Swegarden, H. Vegetable Pollination Guides. Guides include common bean, cole crops, cucumber, garden pea, pepper, potato, squash and tomato. Available at https://eorganic.info/node/34157
Vallejos, C. 2019. Efficacy of Marker Assisted Selection for Late Blight Resistance in Tomatoes for an Organic System. Oregon State University Senior Thesis.
Wyatt, L. 2015. Genomic and phenotypic analyses of vegetable disease resistance and fruit quality. Ph.D. Thesis, Cornell University. Available at https://ecommons.cornell.edu/handle/1813/40673
Yactayo-Chang, J.P., Boehlein, S., Beiriger, R.L., Resende M.F.R., Jr., Bruton, R.G., Alborn, H.T., Romero, M., Tracy, W.F, & Block. A.K. 2022. The Impact of Post-Harvest Storage on Sweet Corn Aroma. Phytochemistry Letters 52:33 39.
Zystro, Jared. 2019. Efficient methods to develop new sweet corn cultivars for organic systems. University of Wisconsin-Madison Ph.D. thesis.
Zystro, Jared, Tessa Peters, Kathleen Miller, and William F. Tracy 2020. Classical and genomic prediction of hybrid sweet corn performance in organic environments. Available at https://doi.org/10.1002/csc2.20400. Crop Science 61:1698-1708.

Presentations and Posters

Carvallo, A. 2022. Development of Tomato Varieties Adapted for Organic Systems in the Upper Midwest, with Improved Flavor and Disease Resistance. 11th Biennial Organic Seed Growers Conference, February 4-11, 2022. https://seedalliance.org/conference-agenda-session-details/#posters
King, R.M. and J.R. Myers 2020. Genomic shifts in different agricultural management systems. Annu. Rept. Bean Improv. Coop. 63:63-64.
Mazourek, M., Hultengren, R., Brzozowski, L. Creating Plant Breeding Populations for Organic Systems. Presentation on February 5, 2016, at the 8th Organic Seed Growers Conference in Corvallis, Oregon.
NOVIC Project Research Poster
Myers, J.R. 2019. Lessons Learned in Farmer Participatory Plant Breeding with NOVIC. Southern SSAWG Organic Agriculture Research Forum Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvOuHwGOrBQ&list=PLZMuQJAj6rOquicgEZGthZ83Jvx7 aFSSq&index=3
Park, H., M. Mazourek, R. McGee, J.R. Myers. 2022. Symposium: Perspectives on Organic Vegetable Legumes: Current Status and Breeding for the Future - Organic Seed Growers Conference Organic Seed Conference, 6 Feb. 2022. (Virtual).
Smith, A. 2022. Indigo Tomato Trials on the Evergreen State College Organic Farm. 11th Biennial Organic Seed Growers Conference, February 4-11, 2022. https://seedalliance.org/conference-agenda-session-details/#posters
Wilson, L. 2022. Breeding vegetable Maize for Organic Production: Quality, Selection and Methodology. 11th Biennial Organic Seed Growers Conference, February 4-11, 2022. https://seedalliance.org/conference-agenda-session-details/#posters

Videos and Webinars

Northern Organic Vegetable Improvement Collaborative

NOVIC Project Introduction. See also additional videos on breeding broccoli, carrots, peas, sweet corn and winter squash in the NOVIC project.

Breeding for Nutrition in Organic Seed Systems, 2012, by Philipp Simon, Jim Myers, Micaela Colley and Walter Goldstein

How to Breed for Organic Production Systems Webinar, by Dr. Jim Myers. 2011.

Introduction to On-Farm Organic Plant Breeding Workshop. Captured live at the 2012 Organic Seed Growers Conference, John Navazio, Organic Seed Alliance and Washington State University, discusses the basics of on-farm plant breeding and presents two case studies.

Assessing Response to Environment in Organic Vegetable Crops. Presented in 2015 by Alex Lyon.

Vegetable Breeding Research Updates, by Jim Myers, 2016.

NOVIC as a model for breeding and trialing vegetable varieties for organic systems, 2019.

Lessons Learned in Farmer Participatory Breeding in the NOVIC Project, by Jim Myers. Recorded at the Organic Agriculture Research Forum at the SSAWG Conference on January 23, 2020.

2020 Virtual Field Tours of NOVIC sweet corn and tomato trials

Sweet Corn and Flour Corn: Micaela Colley, Laurie McKenzie, and Katie Miller kick off the tour with a focus on corn. Both the sweet corn and flour corn crops are part of our Northern Organic Vegetable Improvement Collaborative (NOVIC) project. Our work with sweet corn is focused on breeding for a mild maritime climate. OSA’s Laurie McKenzie discusses our evaluation criteria as well as some of the challenges of growing sweet corn in the Pacific Northwest. Another part of our NOVIC project is focused on dry corn specifically for tortilla making quality. Through our partnership with Viva Farms, a farm incubator program in Skagit Valley, Washington, we’re working with a number of Oaxacan immigrant farmers there who want to find a good dry corn variety that will produce reliability in the region’s cooler climate. The dry corn they were growing from Oaxaca was adapted to a lower latitude and shorter day length and wouldn’t start to flower until the fall in the Pacific Northwest. Watch

Tomatoes: This field tour highlights the NOVIC project as well as the TOMI tomato breeding projects. The Tomato Organic Management Improvement (TOMI) project, is a national breeding partnership looking at a number of crosses made by the breeding team to assess for quality and disease resistance. This project is being led by Dr. Lori Hoagland at Purdue University. TheNOVIC project includes a tomato variety trial evaluation with Pacific Northwest farmers. These trials are specifically looking at evaluating for early fruiting, disease resistance, and performance as a high tunnel crop. The varieties chosen for this trial were a result of conversations between local farmers and our research field assistant, Katie Miller. Watch

What's so Special about Organic Seed? 2009. While in Port Townsend, Washington, the OrganicNation.tv crew stopped at the Organic Seed Alliance to talk with seed geneticist John Navazio.

Organic Carrot Breeding by Dr. John Navazio: Part 1; Part 2; Part 3