High Hopes for Hybrid wheat... Bill Angus

High Hopes for Hybrid wheat... Bill Angus

Or to put it another way.

The Quest for the Holy Grail of wheat breeding.

Hang on haven t we been here before?

We have but life has changed and we have learnt a few lessons

Hybrid wheat what is it? Wheat is a self pollinating crop does not out pollinate much Hybrid wheat captures the value of combining two sets of genetics through cross pollination Hybrid vigour is well established in many commercial crops such as Maize (corn), barley and oil seed rape Hybrid winter barley gives an insight into the potential for hybrid wheat the highest yielding varieties on the RL

Hybrid wheat so what has changed in the last twenty years? Wheat yield progress has slowed as breeders have utilised a lot of yield traits On farm yields have slowed as a result of shorter rotations and low grain prices inhibiting investment in wheat growing Environmental issues have increased in priority Effective fungicides are under increasing pressure and the pipeline is challenging New technologies are available to the breeding community to enhance selection efficiency

A short history of hybrid wheat breeding 1951 Cytoplasmic Male Sterility (CMS) was discovered but commercial hybrids were not available until 1970s 1959 Nuclear male sterility discovered but no commercial activities 1970s Chemical Hybridising Agents (CHAs)were developed A number of CHAs were developed WL84811 (Shell), Genesis (Rohm and Haas) Croisor (Saaten Union) Croisor is registered for use in France and the Czech Republic

So where did it all go wrong before? Every hybrid wheat activity in the UK has failed because of the cost of seed production and/ or lack of seed purity not variety performance The two issues are intrinsically linked

Wheat flowering biology the key to hybrid seed production Wheat has been selected by man to self pollinate for thousands of years Now we have to change this crop to being an out pollinator Fortunately there are a few varieties (very few) that have this attribute When the first hybrids were made this was not taken into account fully as breeders rushed to cross anything with anything in the hope of exploring the crops potential.

Wheat flowering biology the key to hybrid seed production -2 There is no shortage of pollen For every fertilisation event there are approximately 9,000 pollen grains available (3 anthers at 3,000 pollen grains each However wheat pollen is very heavy and is not easy to transfer by wind Wheat pollen has a short life just 2 minutes under dry conditions Early models were developed whereby strips of males and females lines were used to produce seed This system was doomed to failure because of the dynamics of poor wind transfer of pollen

So what can we do now? Develop male populations which exude their anthers Look within related species for larger anthers Look within related species for higher pollen grain numbers Select for different flowering patterns longer duration of flowering or rapid flowering? Use new technology (molecular markers) to identify flowering traits and use these to fast track material for optimal flowering types

So that s the males sorted what about the females? Differences in female receptivity have been found these can be optimised Again molecular markers can be used to transfer this rapidly (using other technologies such as single seed descent or double haploids to speed up the process) Consider other dwarfing genes previously discarded for conventional breeding so as to be shorter than the males and hence allow pollen to drop on to receptive stigmas Develop a seed production system that depends on a mixed male: female production (as for barley and rye)

CONVERT THIS

TO THIS..

THE WORST CASE SCENARIO

A tell tale sign of poor flowering - ergot

Wheat yield frontiers Based on Bio-Physical limits Potential Yield (Plot Trials) Top Quartile Farmers Country Ave. Yield t/ha Potential Yield t/ha % Gap Yaqui valley, Mexico 6 9 50% New technology gap Best practice Systems gap Punjab, India 4.3 6.25 45% Haryana, India Western Australia N Dakota, USA United Kingdom 4.2 5.75 35% 1.8 2.6 45% 2.5 3.7 50% 8.0 10.4 25% Eastern China 4.7 7.0 50% Kansas, USA 2.6 3.9 45% Technological possibility Current technology potential Best Farmer practice Average yield Source: FAO Expert Meeting on How to Feed the World in 2050 (Rome, 24-26 June 2009)

Benefits of Hybrid Wheat Consistent yields Second wheats Light land Take- all situations Good physical grain characters (Fusarium resistance) Potential competitiveness with Black grass

Hybrid Yield Performance Hybrid wheat HAS to solve a problem on farm it is not a panacea for higher yield in every situation The UK is one of the least favourable countries for hybrid wheat because of its benign climate and high yield potential Initial expectations were for high yield advantages but these were often based upon small plots and/ or plots not treated with fungicides

Norman S Morley Quote I don t want the highest yielding variety this year I want one that will be in the top three every year

Hybrid wheat: Stability of yield Exploiting today s potential Yield Conventional Yield Hybrids Yr 1 Yr 2 Yr 3 Yr 4 Yr 5 Yr 6 Yr 1 Yr 2 Yr 3 Yr 4 Yr 5 Yr 6

Consistency of Performance The RL gives an interesting insight into year x year interactions Hybrid barleys are an example of consistency over years Hybrid wheats tend to be taller, have higher biomass (6-8%) and good flowering characteristics (derived from their male parent) Hybrid wheats finish they don t die like conventional wheats

Second wheats, light land and take-all situations Better rooting, higher biomass and resilience > better yields

Where does this leave hybrids in terms of potential market shares in the UK? 20-25% of the UK could be hybrid wheat

So what else have we learnt? There are no market outlets that cannot be covered by hybrid wheats Feed Bread Biscuit Distilling Hybrids fare better than conventional wheats in untreated trials even with the same level of disease susceptibility more resilient but why?

So is this just a ruse by seed companies to make sure growers buy seed every year? Farmers are wise enough to know whether an investment (in this case seed) is appropriate Examples from other parts of the world (eg soya in Argentina) show that when the product is good then growers will adopt it (98% soya in Argentina is Round Up Ready) Large companies know that the balance between genetics and chemistry is changing and as such now recognise the contribution that seed can make to their businesses.

So what else will change? The continuing story of a greater technical approach to growing crops will continue Hybrid seed rates will be lower than for conventional wheat High speed precision drilling? perhaps this will be how a field of hybrid wheat will look.

Conclusions This is the continuing story of the development of hybrid wheat. Breeders have learnt a lot over the last 30 years New technologies are available that will add significantly to the efficiency of selection for hybrid wheats Major businesses such as Dow-Dupont, Bayer and Syngenta are investing The current farming environment is very difficult and demands radical solutions Wheat demand continues to rise and population projections point to 9 billion people to feed by 2050 We cannot afford to fail this time.