by
Peter R Shewry and Alison Lovegrove, Rothamsted Research, UK
The yields of wheat in the UK and across much of the world have increased massively over the past century, from a few tonnes per hectare at the start of the twentieth century to current UK average yields of between eight and nine tonnes per hectare. Many factors have contributed to these increases, with genetic improvement by plant breeding being particularly important in the second half of the 20th century.
For example, Ian Mackay and colleagues at NIAB estimated that almost 90 percent
of the yield increases in the UK over the period 1981-2007, from about
six-to-eight tonnes per hectare, were due to varietal improvement. However, it
has been suggested that the emphasis of modern breeding on increasing yield and
processing quality has resulted in detrimental effects on the contents of other
grain components, including those that are important for human health. This is
important because wheat is the staple food in many countries and an important
source of a number of essential and beneficial components, including protein,
dietary fibre, minerals and vitamins.
Cereals, and wheat in particular, are important sources of dietary fibre. For example, in the UK about 40 percent of the fibre in the diet comes from cereals, about 20 percent from all breads and about 10 percent from white bread. Dietary fibre is essential for human health, having a range of established benefits including reducing the rate of glucose release during the digestion of starchy foods (and hence reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes), lowering blood pressure and the level of cholesterol in the serum, and reducing the risk of certain types of cancer (notably colorectal cancer). Fibre is also deficient in almost all diets: the average UK adult consumes about 18g per day, compared with the recommendation of 30g.
Read more HERE.
The yields of wheat in the UK and across much of the world have increased massively over the past century, from a few tonnes per hectare at the start of the twentieth century to current UK average yields of between eight and nine tonnes per hectare. Many factors have contributed to these increases, with genetic improvement by plant breeding being particularly important in the second half of the 20th century.
Cereals, and wheat in particular, are important sources of dietary fibre. For example, in the UK about 40 percent of the fibre in the diet comes from cereals, about 20 percent from all breads and about 10 percent from white bread. Dietary fibre is essential for human health, having a range of established benefits including reducing the rate of glucose release during the digestion of starchy foods (and hence reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes), lowering blood pressure and the level of cholesterol in the serum, and reducing the risk of certain types of cancer (notably colorectal cancer). Fibre is also deficient in almost all diets: the average UK adult consumes about 18g per day, compared with the recommendation of 30g.
Read more HERE.
The Global Miller
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