Rothamsted commits to securing 20 tonne per hectare wheat yields
SCIENTISTS at Rothamsted Research have launched a new ‘20:20 Wheat ®’ Programme aiming to provide the knowledge base and tools to increase potential wheat yields in the UK to 20 tonnes per hectare within the next 20 years.
It is hoped that this could bring significant economic benefit to UK farmers as every 1 tonne per hectare increase in yield is estimated to be worth £318 million per year at the farm gate. Wheat provides a fifth of human calories, but since 1980 the rate of increase in wheat yields has declined. The average farm yield of wheat in the UK is currently around nine tonnes per hectare and the world average is about three tonnes per hectare. While commenting on the Rothamsted the UK’s chief scientific adviser, Sir John Beddington, confirmed that the world is heading for a “perfect storm” of events where demands for energy, water and food will increase dramatically with an underlying threat of climate change, over the next 20-40 years.
He added: “The challenge for global agriculture is to grow more food on not much more land, using less water, fertiliser and pesticides than we have historically done.” The Rothamsted programme, which is funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) will seek ways to improve the quantity and quality of wheat, for example through genotype improvement, improved photosynthetic efficiency, altered canopy and root architecture, modified seed development and enhanced nutrient utilisation efficiency. The head of the 20:20 Wheat programme at Rothamsted Research, Professor Martin Parry, explained that wheat is the world’s number one staple crop, but has not benefited from the attention afforded to corn and soybeans in recent years. He believes that Rothamsted has the established collaborations and vision to deliver this programme” as it has “world-renowned expertise in photosynthesis, plant architecture, nutrient utilisation, wheat bioinformatics and wheat pathogenomics”. But the programme is not just about UK wheat yield. It is hoped that this ambitious target will help focus efforts to create multiple technologies that could benefit the world. Getting stable wheat yield increases in Africa, for example, by two tonnes per hectare could also have a significant impact on global food security. Rothamsted Research ideally positioned to be a world leader in wheat research. It is the longest running agricultural research station in the world, providing cutting-edge science and innovation for nearly 170 years with a mission to deliver the knowledge and new practices to increase crop productivity and quality and to develop environmentally sustainable solutions for food and energy production. Its strength lies in its integrated, multidisciplinary approach to research in plant and soil science.
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Sunday 19 May 2013
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