Fifty frequently measured breeding traits being documented

A well documented trait dictionary is necessary for standardised measurement of traits of breeding significance. GCP recently commenced a process to establish a Trait Dictionary with the fifty most important traits frequently measured in breeding for bean, cassava, cowpea, chickpea, groundnuts, maize, rice, sorghum and wheat.

This process involved the creation of preliminary trait dictionaries in collaboration with the IBP use cases, GCP Research Initiatives and existing communities of practice. The dictionaries were further refined by removing duplicates and clarifying description

Initial ranking of the traits by our collaborating breeders has just been completed, and we are now at the stage of summarizing and analyzing the rankings.

In the final stage, we will narrow down to the fifty most frequently measured traits for breeding in consultation with the community of breeders for each crop, and this will include the measurement unit, protocols or methods for measurement, and the allowable values.

The final lists of breeding traits will be synchronized with the central crop databases to be readily available for use in the integrated breeding tools of the Platform such as the Fieldbook. This trait dictionary will also be loaded into the Bioversity International ontology system.

We thank the partners in the nascent communities of practice for the nine crops, the IBP user cases, and the GCP Research Initiatives for  participating in this process, especially for the ranking of the traits and providing documentation. The Fieldbook is projected to be officially launched in January 2012, and will incorporate these trait dictionaries – ready for immediate use by all of you.