BalticWheat Network

The aim of this network is to identify solutions for reducing the use of fertilizers and pesticides in the wheat cultivation system. Wheat is the biggest cereal crop in the Baltic Sea Region states and efficient agriculture practices in wheat cultivation will have a positive impact on the Baltic Sea region environment. The overarching long term goal of the BalticWheat network is to identify solutions to reduce the reliance on fertilizers and pesticides in wheat cultivation.
The project will identify and evaluate various alternative solutions both at the pre-breeding and at farm management levels.
Possible solutions to be discussed are:

• Increasing genetic diversity in wheat for improved nutrient use efficiency (NUE) and higher disease resistance;
• Diversifying agroecological systems using mixed cropping systems and efficient crop rotations;
• Speeding up plant breeding by using next generation breeding techniques and high-throughput phenotyping;
• Evaluating management practices for fungicide resistance in wheat pathogens.

Activities:

1. Kickoff meeting in Malmö on 12-13^th October. Program and the participant list can be found here.
2. A joint meeting between the two networks “BalticWheat” and “Decision Support System for Fusarium” was held at LAMMC, Lithuania in July 2-3. Program can be found here.

Publication:
A. Chawade, R. Armoniene, G. Berg, G. Brazauskas, G. Frostgard, M. Geleta, A. Gorash, T. Henriksson, K. Himanen, A. Ingver, E. Johansson, L. N. Jorgensen, M. Koppel, R. Koppel, P. Makela, R. Ortiz, W. Podyma, T. Roitsch, A. Ronis, J. T. Svensson, P. Vallenback and M. Weih, "A transnational and holistic breeding approach is needed for sustainable wheat production in the Baltic Sea region," Physiol Plant, 2018. http://doi.org/10.1111/ppl.12726

Conference proceedings:
Armoniené, R., Brazauskas, G., & Chawade, A. (2018). BalticWheat Network for sustainable wheat production in the Baltic Sea region. In 26th NJF Congress: Agriculture for the next 100 years. Akademija: NJF.

Follow the project on Researchgate:
https://www.researchgate.net/project/BalticWheat-Network