Genes help make cereals stand tall (From Gazette & Herald)

Genes help make cereals stand tall

Research is underway at ADAS, based at High Mowthorpe, in a bid to shed some light on cereals lodging and its effect on crop yield and quality. Dr STEVE ELLIS, of ADAS, explains more...

DURING the festive season it is not unknown for the odd person to take a tumble. The reasons for this 'lodging' are well-known and avoidable!

In contrast, cereals lodging is less well understood and can have a significant effect on crop yield and quality.

Current research at ADAS High Mowthorpe, under the guidance of Dr Pete Berry, is now beginning to shed some light on the subject.

The aim is to identify the genes responsible for lodging resistance in varieties, which currently stand well, such as Solstice, and mark them for use in breeding programmes.

The implications of a lodging proof crop are very attractive. Higher yields, better hagbergs and premiums, lower drying costs, fewer growth regulators and a reduced risk of fusarium and mycotoxin contamination.

Better lodging resistance is also vital to support heavier yielding varieties, as it is unlikely that growth regulators will ever offer the full answer.

Bad lodging years occur despite the fact that more than 80 per cent of wheat crops receive a plant growth regulator treatment programme annually. Estimates from a season where 16 per cent of the total wheat area went flat put the cost of lodging at £120 million in lost yield and quality.

It is expected that the genetic approach to combating lodging will both prevent losses and increase yield potential. With current levels of straw strength, the weight of grain in the heads is a major constraint to achieving higher yields.

Calculations estimate wheat's biological potential to be a staggering 19 t/ha.

Although Dr Berry can't promise this, he is hopeful of achieving a 20 per cent increase in stem and root strength quite easily using genetic markers to direct breeding programmes. That would support the weight of an extra 1-2 t/ha, and halve the UK's current lodging problem.

An extra 50 per cent more strength than we have in current varieties would remove the risk of lodging, the ideal scenario.

Breeders have traditionally selected for lodging resistance on the basis of straw shortness because it is easy to assess. But they have probably gone as far as they can in reducing crop height to improve yield. Also, shorter varieties are not necessarily better at withstanding a battering.

The breeding material used in this project is Solstice, one of the most lodging resistant wheats, despite being the fifth tallest on the Recommended List.

Obviously, growers will not be able to benefit from this research right away, but it is possible that we could have a lodging proof plant by 2020.

No genetic modification is necessary and no negative side effects, such as poorer resistance to diseases, will be tolerated.

The outcome is bound to be higher yielding as weight constraints are lifted.

The value of two previous lodging projects has already surfaced in the form of improvements to the Recommended List lodging information and a lodging risk calculator.

Knowing whether a variety's strength comes from the stem or roots or both can aid management decisions. For example, if you know you've chosen a variety with weak anchorage, you can tailor your crop husbandry using lower seed rates, consolidating the seedbed or rolling in the spring.

A weak stemmed variety benefits most from delaying nitrogen fertiliser applications.

Updated: 09:38 Wednesday, January 04, 2006