The assortment of wheat types grown at NIAB Innovation Farm is part of a Defra-LINK project exploring a novel way to maximise the value of the diversity in wheat populations. Within the genetic diversity contained in these plots there is anincreased ability to buffer against disease and other stresses.
Adaptive Wheat LINK aims to improve the stability and performance of winter wheat under increasingly variable environmental conditions using winter wheat‘composite cross populations’ (CCP). A CCP is created by two-way crossesbetween, in this case, 20 varieties. Over time this population will continue tocross and has the potential to adapt to local environmental conditions. This isbeing compared to the equivalent mix of the same 20 species.
CCP populations have the potential to demonstrate lower coefficients ofvariation for grain yield compared to varietal monocultures. This suggests thatthe highly diverse wheat populations have the potential to be more stable andbuffer against environmental fluctuations.
The lines exhibited at NIAB Innovation Farm are:
- YQ Mix
- YQ CCP
- Q Mix
- Q CCP
- Y Mix
- Y CCP
When used by farmers, if the seed is retained and re-sown, those plants that have fared well will contribute more to next season’s seed than those with poor performance. By sowing and re-sowing the CCP year after year a farmer will therefore slowly build a wheat crop that is more and more adapted to the local farm conditions; in effect this is using natural selection to adapt a modern and bespoke landrace variety.
The Wheat Breeding LINK project (LK0999 – Adaptive winter wheat populations: development, genetic characterisation and application) is sponsored by Defra. Project partners are: The Organic Research Centre – Elm Farm, John Innes Centre, Bread Matters Ltd, CPB Twyford Ltd, Crisp Malting Group Ltd, Dove Farm Foods Ltd, East Haydon Farm, Farmeco Ltd, HGCA, LEAF Ltd, Letheringsett Watermill, Limagrain UK, New Houses Farm, Norton Organic Grain Ltd, North Elmham Bakery, Organic Arable Marketing Company Ltd, Organic Farmers & Growers Ltd, Progressive Farming Trust Ltd, RAGT Seeds Ltd, Rushall Farms, Shipton Mill Ltd, Soil Association Certification Ltd, Soil Association Ltd, The Arable Group, Trescowthick Craft Bakery, W & H Marriage & Sons Ltd, and Wakelyns Agroforestry.
