Scientists closing on bumper wheat crops

A scientific breakthrough is set to revolutionise the Australian wheat industry.

Drought-tolerant wheat varieties have been engineered to provide bigger yields in years when rainfall is plentiful while still being able to survive predominant dry conditions. Picture: Supplied

A scientific breakthrough is set to revolutionise the Australian wheat industry and help alleviate environmental factors threatening world food production.

Drought-tolerant wheat varieties have been engineered to provide bigger yields in years when rainfall is plentiful while still being able to survive predominant dry conditions.

Grain growers were previously presented with a paradox that meant drought-tolerant wheat varieties were able to produce decent crops in dry years but were unable to produce a financially crucial boom crop during rare good seasons.

University of Queensland researchers at Toowoomba on the Darling Downs, where most of Queensland’s wheat is grown, have overcome the issue by tinkering with the genes of three key wheat varieties and developed strains that grow deeper roots and stay green for longer. The new ­varieties could be commercially available in a few years.

Researcher Jack Christopher from the Queensland Alliance of Agriculture and Food Innovation, which collaborates with the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries Queensland and the Grain Research and Development Corporation, said the ­research could help address the growing issue of food shortages and rising demand for wheat products. “It’s often historically been the case that crops that were particularly good in dry seasons didn’t have that full yield potential in other seasons,” Dr Christopher said. “That’s what we were trying to get around.”

The breakthrough has generated significant excitement in the industry. “All commercial breeding companies that have been ­offered the material have taken it up straight away and they’re all working on it with a view to getting varieties out as soon as they can,” Dr Christopher said.

The researchers aimed to strategically find desirable traits, rather than experimenting and hoping to get lucky.

Using a speed breeding technique, which gives the plants continuous ultraviolet light, the scientists were able to mature five generations of wheat crops in a year, rather than the standard single crop. Some of the new lines had a greater than 85 per cent chance of out-yielding the three elite parent varieties in dry years.

The varieties were then tested in the field to ensure the enhanced traits were not only recognised in the greenhouse.

Future research will focus on giving plants increased heat tolerance and greater biomass production per unit of water without impacting on the plant’s ability to consistently produce good yields.