'Super wheat' can improve yields by up to 30 percent

A strain of wheat which has been developed near Cambridge, UK, can increase yields by up to 30 percent.

The National Institute of Agricultural Botany created the GM-free wheat by a transferring an embryo from synthetic wheat to grow on in a laboratory before crossing it with a commercial variety. The aim is to get traits from an ancestral wheat, in this case goat grass, into farmed crops.

In the second part of the last century, wheat production grew steadily. However, in the last 15 years that yield growth has leveled out. With a growing population and wheat providing 20 percent of global calorie consumption, the importance of improving yields is evident. In fact, experts estimate that in order to feed the world, we need to produce as much wheat in the next 50 years as we have done in the previous 10,000.

Early results on the wheat show improved yields by as much as 30 percent. However, with further tests and approvals needed, it will be five years before farmers can begin planting the wheat.

Here’s a link to a short BBC video explaining the breakthrough.

Viewers in the UK can also watch a special feature on this story on BBC Countryfile which is available on iplayer for the next five days. The segment starts at 6:26. 

More information on the story from the National Institute of Agricultural Botany

Cereal trial plot, Cereals 2010 - geograph.org.uk - 1910647 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)