In Ireland, Agriland reported that a joint study from Rothamsted, Oxford University, and the Rosalind Franklin Institute showed that enhancing individual plants’ sugar signaling ability could deliver increased wheat yields of up to 12%.
This enhanced potential is an order of magnitude greater than annual yield increases currently being achieved through breeding, according to the study.
The effect was achieved by applying a synthetic ‘pre-signaling molecule’ that releases trehalose-6-phosphate (T6P) in the plants, a signaling molecule that controls the plant equivalent of ‘blood sugar’.
A four-year-long field study using plots at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) in Mexico and the National Agricultural Technology Institute (INTA) in Argentina has confirmed that the new technology could deliver major yield improvements.
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Category: Food & Agriculture
