The Role of Plant Genetic Resources and Grain Variety Mixtures in Building Sustainable Agriculture in the Context of Climate Change

Aleksandra Pietrusińska-Radzio, Paulina Bolc, Anna Tratwal and Dorota Dziubińska ()
Additional contact information
Aleksandra Pietrusińska-Radzio: Plant Breeding and Acclimatization Institute—National Research Institute, Radzików, 05-870 Błonie, Poland
Paulina Bolc: Plant Breeding and Acclimatization Institute—National Research Institute, Radzików, 05-870 Błonie, Poland
Anna Tratwal: Institute of Plant Protection—National Research Institute, 60-318 Poznań, Poland
Dorota Dziubińska: Plant Breeding and Acclimatization Institute—National Research Institute, Radzików, 05-870 Błonie, Poland

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 21, 1-20

Abstract: In an era of global warming, sustainable agriculture, which emphasises the conservation of biodiversity and the rational use of natural resources, is growing in importance. One of the key elements is to increase the genetic diversity of crops through the use of crop wild relatives (CWRs) and local varieties, which provide a source of genes for resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Modern agricultural systems are characterised by low biodiversity, which increases the susceptibility of plants to diseases and pests. Growing mixtures of varieties, both intra- and interspecific, is a practical strategy to increase plant resistance, stabilise yields and reduce pathogen pressure. This manuscript has a review character and synthesises the current literature on the use of CWRs, local varieties, and variety mixtures in sustainable agriculture. The main research question of the study is to what extent plant genetic resources, including CWRs and local varieties, as well as the cultivation of variety mixtures, can promote plant resistance, stabilise yields and contribute to sustainable agriculture under climate change. The objectives of the study are to assess the role of genetic resources and variety mixtures in maintaining biodiversity and yield stability, and to analyse the potential of CWRs and local varieties in enhancing plant resistance. Additionally, the study investigates the impact of variety mixtures in reducing disease and pest development, and identifies barriers to the use of genetic resources in breeding along with strategies to overcome them. The study takes an interdisciplinary approach including literature and gene bank data analysis (in situ and ex situ), field trials of cultivar mixtures under different environmental conditions, genetic and molecular analysis of CWRs, the use of modern genome editing techniques (CRISPR/Cas9) and assessment of ecological mechanisms of mixed crops such as barrier effect, and induced resistance and complementarity. In addition, the study considers collaboration with participatory and evolutionary breeding programmes (EPBs/PPBs) to adapt local varieties to specific environmental conditions. The results of the study indicate that the integration of plant genetic resources with the practice of cultivating variety mixtures creates a synergistic model that enhances plant resilience and stabilises yields. This approach also promotes agroecosystem conservation, contributing to sustainable agriculture under climate change.

Keywords: biodiversity; cereal mixtures; climate change adaptation; crop wild relatives (CWRs); gene bank; genetic diversity; sustainable agriculture (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/21/9737/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/21/9737/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:21:p:9737-:d:1784663

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().