VARIETIES HYBRID WHEAT Hybrid wheat could be a game-changer, but for whom? Grower, breeder or both? Mike Abram reports.
Why hybrid varieties could revolutionise wheat growing
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t was the 1930s when research into hybrid wheat began in the wake of the discovery of chemical hybridising agents initially used to develop hybrid maize varieties. Nearly 100 years later, less than 1% of UK wheat is hybrid, all bred by Saaten Union and sold in the UK through Elsoms and CropCo. Higher seed costs, questions over agronomic benefits and the lack of a commercially viable and scalable seed production system have been the main barriers to wider adoption. But that hasn’t stopped multiple rounds of research into developing hybrid wheat by major breeding companies over the years. Financially, it makes sense for breeders – it prevents farm saving seed, meaning growers purchase new and in the case of hybrid seed, likely higher cost seed each season, capturing more value from their investment. That could be good news for growers in the long run though – higher turnover usually drives more investment in the crop. Prof Anthony Hall, head of plant genomics at Earlham Institute, Norwich, says: “You could see a positive spiral like there has been for maize.
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We are creating a lot of hybrids both for feed and quality markets JAMES TAYLORALFORD “Wheat has been underfunded and undervalued for many years.” Progress is being made, partly thanks to advances in understanding of the wheat genome and use of new breeding technologies to help overcome some of the challenges in creating a commercially viable hybrid wheat seed system. Collaboration The latest to enter the race are Bayer and RAGT, which announced in April a collaboration to develop ‘state-of-the-art’ hybrid wheat varieties for Europe. Together, they intend to ‘advance the development of hybrid wheat technology and provide an innovative wheat growing system’.
But they are not alone. Virtually every global wheat breeder has similar objectives, with Syngenta and BASF appearing to be leading the race to commercialise a new generation of hybrid wheat varieties in Europe. Syngenta has four varieties in the equivalent of the National List stage in France, with two potentially being commercialised this autumn. That will depend on performance this season, says James Taylor-Alford, Syngenta’s head of seeds for field crops. “In the UK, our hybrid wheat breeding programme has found some very good material for the male and female lines and we are creating a lot of hybrids both for feed and quality markets.”
The goal is to find hybrid varieties that do offer significant benefits to farmers, he says. “We’re not in this to bring varieties to market that have questionable agronomic benefits over conventional varieties. In our early-stage hybrids, we have seen this potential.” That means ‘significant’ yield improvements – more than the incremental increases typically seen currently. “But there are other things apart from yield – disease resistance, root systems to cope with extreme weather, more efficient use of nitrogen, etc.” Performance Mr Taylor-Alford expects Syngenta to enter hybrids into UK National List (NL) trials in the next three years, perhaps as soon as this autumn. “We need to prove that performance in our trials the year before NL, so when they enter the NL we can be confident they are varieties that are likely to go on and be recommended to prove their value to growers.” A pipeline of hybrids to build momentum is also important for the success of the programme, he adds.
JULY 2021 03/06/2021 15:17
