When Robinson Crusoe was cast away on his tropical island he
would have probably found good use for the bread making wheat that is his
namesake, to aid his survival until rescue.
The promising eponymous milling variety, named after Daniel Defoe's
hero, could now be delighting growers and breadmakers alike and be the
future foundation of the British loaf.
Global wheat plantings are expected to reach 700 million tonnes, which is 46 million tonnes more than last year.
The US corn harvest is also expected to increase by about a third to 360 million tonnes.
That will help boost the word corn harvest to an estimated record 966 million tonnes this coming year.
A new strain combining modern wheat varieties with an ancient
forerunner has the potential to increase supplies by nearly a third.
Scientists said the hybrid may also increase the crop’s resistance to disease and tolerance of drought.
Peter Kendall National Farmers’ Union president said the potential of the breakthrough is ‘just enormous’.
It comes amid concerns about Britain’s wheat production following prolonged cold weather.
Early trials of the hybrid suggest it could be bigger and stronger
than modern varieties, according to the National Institute of
Agricultural Botany.
Its synthetic breeding programme recreated a ‘chance hybridisation’
which saw wheat evolve from goat grass and other grains about 10,000
years ago.
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| Half a loaf of homemade potato bread. Ingredients: Organic Whole Wheat Flour, Organic Red Potatoes, Yeast, Salt and Organic Cane Sugar (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
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