More food and feed have to be grown on less land. At the same time, agronomy and agrochemistry have reached a level where further progress is neutral in relation to yield. Scientific progress helps environmental needs. Genetics alone may close the yield gap by a combined application of classical techniques and molecular knowledge. Large-scale genome analysis and related technologies provide access to a refined understanding of the genome. Fortunately, molecular markers are a genetic tool accepted by the public which often judges gene technology critically. There is even a tendency for classical combination breeding, together with marker-assisted selection, to be more effective in achieving complex breeding goals.