A methodological study on participatory barley breeding I. Selection phase

Decentralized selection, defined as selection in the target environment, has been used to emphasize favorable interactions when significant genotype by environment interactions exist. However, crop breeding based on decentralized selection can still miss its objectives if it does not utilize the farmers' knowledge of the crops and the environment, and it may fail to fit crops to the specific needs and uses of farmers' communities unless it becomes participatory. One cycle of decentralized participatory selection was conducted in eleven locations in Syria. 208 barley entries (fixed lines and segregating populations) were planted unreplicated in two research stations and in the fields of nine Syrian (host) farmers, where they were managed (except planting) by the farmers themselves. Visual selection was conducted by a breeder at all locations and by the host farmers on their own fields and on both stations. In five farm locations, there was also a one-time group selection by neighboring farmers. Host farmers were able to handle the large number of entries making observations during the cropping season using different scoring methods. They did not use the performance of entries on station for their final selection and used a higher selection pressure than the breeder. In their own fields, they selected about one tenth the number of entries selected by the breeder, while on station the farmers selected, on average, about half the number of lines selected by the breeder. For some broad attributes, such as modern germplasm versus landraces, selection was mostly driven by environmental effects. Selection for other attributes was partly environmentally driven and partly based on individual farmers preferences. Selection preferences were similar for fixed or segregating populations. There was wider diversity among farmers' selections in their own fields than among farmers' selections on research stations and among breeder's selections, irrespective of where the selection was conducted. Larger kernels, higher grain yield and biomass, and taller plants (particularly in environmentally stressed locations) were the characteristics most frequently used as selection criteria by both breeder and farmers. Entries selected by the farmers yielded as much, and in one case significantly more, than those selected by the breeder. Decentralized-participatory selection was significantly more efficient in identifying the highest yielding entries in farmers' fields than any other type of selection. There was also evidence suggesting that the breeder was more efficient in selecting higher yielding entries in the research station in a high rainfall area, while the farmers were more efficient in selecting under stress conditions. The results suggest that farmers can handle selection choices among a large number of lines, and because farmers' selections are at least as high yielding as breeder's selections, it is possible to transfer the responsibility of selection to farmers in their fields.