Climate-resistant wheat: breeding of robust and high-quality wheat for an increased food supply

The project in brief

The project will develop new wheat varieties with increased ability to give a good yield and deliver good bread-making properties in a changing climate, in order to increase the Swedish food supply. In order to do so successfully, we need new selection methods to improve the quality of the wheat, as well as new, cost-efficient and quick methods to determine the bread- making quality.

Wheat is the most frequently grown cereal in Sweden and in the world. In 2017, only a fraction of the Swedish wheat was of approved bread-making quality, due to rain and cold, and in 2018, the yield was miserable due to drought and heat. This led to increased imports and a loss of income for the farmers.

Lantmännen, Lilla Harrie Valskvarn and SLU will be collaborating in this project by sharing plant material, expertise as well as cultivation and processing facilities in order to reinforce Swedish agricultural competitiveness in the long term and to overcome the climate challenges of the future.

The project aims to provide new wheat varieties with a stable and high yield, high protein quality characteristics, and improved nitrogen uptake, as well as new and quick methods for effective screening of wheat and bread-making quality, and protein markers relating to wheat quality and stable bread-making properties.

The project should make a significant contribution to ensuring that local bakeries choose locally grown wheat varieties to make locally produced bread, which then ends up on our tables.