Speed breeding in pulses: an opportunity to improve the efficiency of breeding programs

Abstract

Pulses form an important component of the human diet, provide animal feed, and replenish soil fertility through biological nitrogen fixation. However, pulse breeding is a time consuming process. Most of the traditional breeding programs take 10–15 years to release an improved cultivar. In the breeder’s equation, a model of the expected change in a trait in response to selection, cycle time is the most powerful parameter for increasing genetic gain. Shuttle breeding, double haploids and in vitro culture are some of the methodologies that have been developed; however, they have not been able to be implemented efficiently in the breeding programs for pulses. In this context, speed breeding emerges as a technology that allows increased efficiency of the programs, reducing costs and the work required. The technique uses optimal light quality, light intensity, daylength and temperature control to accelerate photosynthesis and flowering, coupled with early seed harvest. It can be integrated with other breeding technologies, does not include transgenesis or gene editing, and is presented as a revolution to increase the efficiency of the programs. We present different advances in pulse breeding programs and propose a speed breeding system for pea (Pisum sativum L.) that includes hybridisations and advancing generations in a growth chamber. This review concludes by highlighting the opportunities and challenges to incorporating speed breeding into pulse breeding programs.