New research could increase crop yields

Published on Wednesday 8 July 2009 21:08

WITH margins under increasing pressure for cereal growers, any moves that will boost yields will be welcomed.

"Work at the Scottish Crop Research Institute involving a range of partners, including the Scottish Agricultural College, suggests that it may be possible to increase the yield of barley by as much as 0.6 tonnes per hectare.

The work, which is still at an early stage, involves sequencing the barley genome, but it is stressed that this is not genetic modification (GM), but rather identifying genes that have the potential to boost yields.

Professor Peter Gregory, the director and chief executive of SCRI, which is based at Invergowrie, near Dundee, said: "As in human genetics, this should revolutionise the way we do genetics and help identify genes responsible for useful traits that we can exploit to increase the profitability and sustainability of the industry.

"At SCRI we have one of the leading research groups on barley genetics in the world who, under Robbie Waugh's leadership, have helped develop a genetics platform that allows us to identify genes that control many plant characteristics.

"This platform is now used throughout the world and is the envy of all other UK researched crops."

The most obvious example is the gene that differentiates between a two row and six row variety of barley. This, according to Gregory, appears to be a gene associated with yield, though this has still to be confirmed. SCRI plans to explore how this gene could potentially be used in both barley and wheat. There is also a range of marker genes that hold out considerable promise.

The fact is that arable farmers now have a considerably reduced armoury of chemicals to combat diseases following a recent review by the European Commissions into which products can be used without posing any risk to the environment.

Gregory said: "Plant breeders are already using these markers or diagnostics associated with several genes at various stages in the breeding cycle. This is very exciting science but there are also three other ways in which SCRI is improving its offering to the cereals-based industries in Scotland.

"First, we have revitalised our research on barley diseases by making two new appointments and establishing a small team to look at disease resistance.

"This group has already won funding to sequence the rhynchosporium genome which will assist in identifying targets to help control currently the most important barley disease in Scotland.

"Moreover they have also started a programme of research with SAC to investigate a new barley disease that is becoming much more important in Scotland – ramularia."

In addition SCRI, in collaboration with the University of Dundee and with financial backing from the Scottish Government, has initiated a large programme of work on the potential for using barley as a biofuel.

Gregory added: "We are also researching the digestibility of straw and its potential use as a co-product in barley and wheat cultivation and appointing new staff to take on this work.

"We think there are good possibilities that barley and wheat straw can be used as a valuable feedstuff for the generation of biofuels, and that growers may therefore benefit from an income stream that is additional to that from the grain while also reducing waste."

SCRI is looking to the future and will soon be appointing a new field geneticist as part of its commitment to train a new generation of cereal breeders. The withdrawal of much of the public money formerly available for plant breeding research has resulted in a severe shortage of skilled plant breeders as many experienced staff have reached retirement age.

Gregory concluded: "Plant breeding is an essential skill if we are to deploy our cutting-edge knowledge about genetics, diseases and useful crop traits into new, commercially viable varieties with financial benefits to farmers and the wider industry."