Challenge
Farmers, and crops, may have to deal with unknown changes in both biotic and abiotic factors acting on crop production. There may be, for example threats from new pests and disease, warmer drier summers and more extreme weather events as a result of climate change.
Solutions
The agriculture and horticulture industry is working to understand and predict the impact of climate change on our crops, as well as providing solutions to the challenge of growing crops in different climatic conditions.
NIAB Innovation Farm demonstrates crops showing:
- Increased genetic diversity, e.g. re-synthesising bread wheat
- Suitability to inputs and cultivations, e.g. better nutrient use efficiency or reduced tillage
- Consistent yield performance under variable climatic conditions, e.g. varieties showing novel drought and stress tolerance characters
