To anticipate to the tightening of Dutch legislation with respect to the use of pesticides and the commitment of the sector to reduce spraying in general, new requirements are put on cultivar characteristics concerning disease and insect resistance. One of the main problems in lily are viral diseases. Virus infections can not be prevented by sanitary measures apart from aphid control. In the recent past the use of crop protection substances has increased due to the an increased use of mineral oil and pyrethroïdes to control aphids. Therefore virus and aphid resistances are important traits to study, in order to develop new cultivars adapted to future growing conditions with minimal pesticide input.
The aim of the project is to develop a mapping framework based on EST sequences which derived markers can be used in a range of progenies and interspecific breeding material originating from crosses between representatives of the different lily sections without the need for repeated marker production. As such the intention is to set up a molecular toolbox that can be used to trail any trait in future. Framework will initially be used to develop molecular tools that will allow directed introgression breeding on resistance against viruses as well as resistance against aphids. |
