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Is plant breeding science objective truth or social construction? The case of yield stability

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  • David Cleveland

Abstract

This article presents a holistic framework for understanding the scienceof plant breeding, as an alternative to the common objectivist andconstructivist approaches in studies of science. It applies thisapproach to understanding disagreements about how to deal with yieldstability. Two contrasting definitions of yield stability are described,and concomitant differences in the understanding and roles ofsustainability and of selection, test, and target environments areexplored. Critical questions about plant breeding theory and practiceare posed, and answers from the viewpoint of the two contrastingdefinitions of yield stability are analyzed, based on key publicationsin the field. Differences in answers to these questions appear to resultboth from the contingencies of plant breeders' experiences withparticular crop varieties and growing environments, and from differencesin social and institutional settings – plant breeding science isboth objective truth and social construction. The goal of using aholistic framework is to encourage discussion among plant breeders,farmers, social scientists, and others, of the bases for disagreementswithin plant breeding, in order to facilitate plant breeding'scontribution to a more environmentally, economically, and sociallysustainable agriculture. Copyright Kluwer Academic Publishers 2001

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  • David Cleveland, 2001. "Is plant breeding science objective truth or social construction? The case of yield stability," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 18(3), pages 251-270, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:agrhuv:v:18:y:2001:i:3:p:251-270
    DOI: 10.1023/A:1011923222493
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    1. Pingali, Prabhu L., 1999. "Cimmyt 1998-99 World Wheat Facts And Trends. Global Wheat Research In A Changing World: Challenges And Achievements," Facts and Trends/Overview and Outlook 23726, CIMMYT: International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center.
    2. Heisey, Paul W. & Edmeades, Gregory O., 1999. "Cimmyt 1997/98 World Maize Facts And Trends; Maize Production In Drought-Stressed Environments: Technical Options And Research Resource Allocation," Facts and Trends/Overview and Outlook 9369, CIMMYT: International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center.
    3. Smale, Melinda & Heisey, Paul W & Leathers, Howard D, 1995. "Maize of the Ancestors and Modern Varieties: The Microeconomics of High-Yielding Variety Adoption in Malawi," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 43(2), pages 351-368, January.
    4. Byerlee, Derek, 1996. "Modern varieties, productivity, and sustainability: Recent experience and emerging challenges," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 24(4), pages 697-718, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Frank Kutka, 2011. "Open-Pollinated vs. Hybrid Maize Cultivars," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 3(9), pages 1-24, September.
    2. McGuire, Shawn J., 2008. "Path-dependency in plant breeding: Challenges facing participatory reforms in the Ethiopian Sorghum Improvement Program," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 96(1-3), pages 139-149, March.
    3. Odette D. Weedon & Maria R. Finckh, 2019. "Heterogeneous Winter Wheat Populations Differ in Yield Stability Depending on their Genetic Background and Management System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-20, November.
    4. Soleri, Daniela & Cleveland, David A. & Glasgow, Garrett & Sweeney, Stuart H. & Cuevas, Flavio Aragón & Fuentes, Mario R. & Ríos L., Humberto, 2008. "Testing assumptions underlying economic research on transgenic food crops for Third World farmers: Evidence from Cuba, Guatemala and Mexico," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(4), pages 667-682, November.
    5. Karl Zimmerer, 2003. "Just small potatoes (and ulluco)? The use of seed-size variation in “native commercialized” agriculture and agrobiodiversity conservation among Peruvian farmers," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 20(2), pages 107-123, June.

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