Lessons from a student-led breeding effort on leafy African vegetables in Minnesota

Abstract

The Community Plant Breeding Team, a student-led plant breeding initiative at the University of Minnesota, was initiated in 2021 in direct response to the local demand for culturally relevant food. We focus on improving access to African leafy vegetables, which are in high demand but face challenges such as poor adaptation to the Minnesota climate and limited seed availability. We aim to develop locally adapted cultivars of four African vegetable species: amaranth, Amaranthus spp. L.; spiderwisp, Cleome gynandra (L.) Briq.; jute mallow, Corchorus spp. L.; and Ethiopian mustard, Brassica carinata A. Braun. Our participatory plant breeding program integrates community members into the breeding process, enhancing their access to culturally relevant African vegetables while offering students and researchers practical lessons in plant breeding and community engagement. This article highlights fundamental lessons from this project: the importance of building strong community relationships, using inclusive language, focusing efforts on a few key species, adopting a participatory approach, and safeguarding both knowledge and germplasm. We intend for this work to serve as a framework for others interested in developing similar breeding efforts or simply gaining an understanding of this model for participatory plant breeding.