<
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jun/12/wheat-breeding-climate-crisis-drought-resistant>
"A dozen or so farm workers perched on wooden stools carefully emasculate wheat
spikes using nail scissors and tweezers – the first step in a years-long
breeding process to develop climate-resilient varieties.
It’s late afternoon, and the farmhands are shaded by wide-brimmed sun hats as
they work in an experimental wheat field in northern Mexico, preparing the
wheat flowers to be cross-pollinated in a couple of days. For each pollination,
both wheat parents have been selected by crop scientists for desirable traits
such as fungus resistance, photosynthesis efficiency, and yield.
It’s a quiet scene, but the stakes increase every year as concerns grow that
our food system is not ready for the climate crisis.
Scientists at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in
Sonora are focused on developing wheat varieties which can better cope with
drought, rising temperatures and excessive rainfall. In other words, wheat that
can thrive under the extreme and unpredictable weather conditions farmers are
experiencing globally due to the rapidly warming planet."
Via Doug Senko.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
