Scientists on a Hunt for Traits to Breed Climate-Proof Crops

The Global Crop Diversity Trust is undertaking a major effort to search crop collections from 21 agricultural research institutions, for traits that could arm agriculture against the potential impacts of climate change. The Trust, known for its Doomsday seed vault in Svalbard, will screen seeds from genebanks for natural resistance to diseases, drought, salinity, and extreme temperature.

“Our crops must produce more food, on the same amount of land, with less water, and more expensive energy,” explained Trust Executive Director Cary Fowler. He noted that the lack of readily available data on key traits severely hinders plant breeders’ efforts to identify materials they can use to breed new varieties suited for the climates most countries will experience in the coming decades.

Scientists will be screening chickpea and wheat collections in Pakistan for traits of economic importance for farmers. They will also characterize rare coconuts in Sri Lanka for drought tolerance and resistance to pests and diseases, screen for salinity tolerance in sweet potatoes in Peru, and identify drought-tolerance in bananas from India.

Read the press release at http://www.croptrust.org/documents/Press%20Releases/Trust%20grants%20release%20FinalSept08.pdf