Researchers in Australia have found a way to increase wheat production by up to three times through their \u201cspeed breeding\u201d procedures inspired by NASA experiments to grow the crop in space.The NASA experiments involved using continuous light on wheat which triggered early reproduction in the plants, said Lee Hickey of University of Queensland in Australia.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe thought we could use the NASA idea to grow plants quickly back on Earth, and in turn, accelerate the genetic gain in our plant breeding programmes,\u201d Hickey said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy using speed breeding techniques in specially modified glasshouses we can grow six generations of wheat, chickpea and barley plants, and four generations of canola plants in a single year – as opposed to two or three generations in a regular glasshouse, or a single generation in the field,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The study, published in the journal Nature Plants, showed that the technique can cut the length of plant breeding cycles.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur experiments showed that the quality and yield of the plants grown under controlled climate and extended daylight conditions was as good, or sometimes better, than those grown in regular glasshouses,\u201d Hickey added.<\/p>\n
Hickey said information on how to use speed breeding was increasingly in demand from other researchers and industry.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere has been a lot of interest globally in this technique due to the fact that the world has to produce 60-80 per cent more food by 2050 to feed its nine billion people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
While the technique has largely been used for research purposes so far, it is now being adopted by industry.<\/p>\n
In partnership with the Australia company Dow AgroSciences, the scientists have used the technique to develop the new \u201cDS Faraday\u201d wheat variety due for release to industry in 2018.<\/p>\n
\u201cDS Faraday is a high protein, milling wheat with tolerance to pre-harvest sprouting,\u201d Hickey said in a statement released by the University of Queensland on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe introduced genes for grain dormancy so it can better handle wet weather at harvest time – which has been a problem wheat scientists in Australia have been trying to solve for 40 years,\u201d Hickey said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve finally had a breakthrough in grain dormancy, and speed breeding really helped us to do it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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