Varieties and genetics research for cereals and oilseeds

Our Recommended Lists (RL) trials provide information on the performance cereals and oilseeds varieties. AHDB also supports pre-breeding research to help deliver novel and improved traits to the varieties of the future.

The crop production environment is highly changeable. Because plant breeding takes many years, a sustained investment in research and trials is required. Through strategic collaboration, the industry can ensure that varieties of cereals and oilseeds continue to meet farmers’ agronomic needs and the requirements of a diverse grain market.

AHDB research focuses on:

• Ensuring a successful route to market for new cereal and oilseed varieties with appropriate agronomic and quality characteristics (e.g. via the RL)
• Maintaining crop profitability (e.g. maintaining or enhancing yield and quality)
• Improving environmental sustainability (e.g. supporting the adoption of IPM)
• Monitoring and investigating changes to varietal performance (e.g. caused by pathogen population change)
• Delivering variety data in easy-to-use formats (e.g. via online tools)

The basis of the RL first edition (1944) was a narrative description (by the National Institute of Agricultural Botany) of 16 wheat varieties. Since that time, the variety trialling project has evolved. Now managed by AHDB, it involves more than 400 trials – spread from Cornwall to Aberdeenshire – delivering vast amounts of data for 11 crops each year.

UKCPVS continually monitors cereal rusts and mildews in UK varieties. When a change in virulence (ability to cause disease) is detected, the project determines the significance for resistance in RL varieties, in addition to varieties in trials and breeding programmes.

To simulate wheat yields under various scenarios, including climate change scenarios, this studentship project will develop and validate a model (Sim Farm 2030). It will apply cutting-edge, machine-learning, data-driven techniques to model the yield of wheat cultivars, as a function of meteorological (e.g. temperature and precipitation) and environmental (e.g. pollution and soil) variables. The final model will guide decision making (e.g. in crop breeding) and potentially reduce the requirement for costly variety trials.

Despite clear benefits of varietal resistance/tolerance to pests, no varieties are available for the control of any pest in oilseed rape. However, studies have identified potentially useful genetic variations in CSFB adult feeding damage in laboratory-based ‘choice experiments’ and in the field. Furthermore, a laboratory screen for resistance against CSFB larvae found substantial differences in the frequency of adult emergence between the 40 lines tested, with some lines producing few or no viable adults.  As these results show the potential to breed varieties with greater resilience to CSFB, this project will:

• Assist the identification and sharing of CSFB-resistant/tolerant germplasm (between breeders/researchers)
• Develop protocols and genetic markers for resistance/tolerance traits
• Facilitate the movement of key traits into market-ready varieties

A cross between two varieties increases the yield of the resultant offspring (hybrid vigour). Because of the need to ensure effective pollination and avoid self-fertilisation, the process is challenging. This project aims to develop systems to control and improve fertility in cereal crops. The study has identified key genes in barley and wheat that are critical for pollen development. The researchers will characterise fertility traits in various genetic pools to confirm their consistency. CRISPR gene editing is also being used – on a representative gene (HvTF1) – to see if the technique can produce plants similar to those modified via conventional methods.

*A report is submitted at the end of each project. After review (which can take several weeks), the final project report is published on the corresponding project page. At this stage, the project is official complete.

Information on all crop genetics research projects is available in our research archive:

• In the ‘Sector’ drop-down box, select ‘Cereals & Oilseeds’
• In the ‘Topic’ drop-down box, select ‘Varieties, breeding and genetics’

Our Strategic Cereal Farms put cutting-edge research and innovation into practice on commercial farms around the UK.

Trials cover a variety of topics, including testing how varieties can help lower fungicide inputs in a cost-effective way.