A cornerstone of OSA’s research program is engaging with the scientific community to advance organic plant breeding knowledge and practices. Our collaboration with university plant breeders has strongly influenced this expanding field of scientific study, including graduate student programs.
Next week, OSA staff will travel to Palm Desert, California, to participate in this year’s American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS) colloquium, titled: Advances and Critical Issues in Breeding Cultivars for Organic Cropping Systems and Developing Methods of Organic Seed Production.
The colloquium brings together researchers from across the U.S. involved in organic plant breeding, organic variety trials, and organic seed research, allowing for the dissemination of information and the opportunity to forge new research directions and collaborations. OSA staff will participate in three paper presentations, including:
- Breeding for Traits Unique to Organic Production Systems
- The Value of Farmer Based Participatory Plant Breeding for Organic Systems
- Participatory Variety Trials: Value and Methods.
OSA is also a co-author on two poster presentations, including Carrot Improvement for Organic Agriculture and the Open Source Seed Initiative.
Ten years ago, when OSA was established, there were few organic plant breeding programs and minimal published literature on the topic. Today, OSA is proud to actively engage in this growing scientific community.
