Genetic Adjustment to Changing Climates: faba bean
Résumé
Faba bean (Vicia faba L.) is a grain legume producing protein rich seeds and offering valuable ecological services in sustainable agriculture. Its wide world distribution demonstrates a basic good capacity to adapt to diverse climates, but its low and unstable yields hamper its competitiveness. With climate change risk, a breeding effort is required for tolerance to diverse abiotic stresses (ie freezing, heat, drought, salt, elevated CO2) and to related diseases and pests. The interactions with beneficial organisms such as root symbionts or pollinating insects should also be watched. The genetic variability already identied for such traits in ex situ genetic resources collections is reviewed, and new actions are recommended for the future, especially those which will promote autumn sown cultivars.