TRI³ticum

Motivation

The effects of climate change are already evident in the form of an increase in extreme weather events (heavy rain, hail, drought), the frequency of which will continue to increase according to forecasts by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. This requires an increase in the resilience ("resistance") of cultivation systems in order to reduce the risk of yield reduction or loss.

Aims and approach

The ^TRI3ticumproject aims to research the potential of spring cereals for multiple use. Based on cultivation systems such as two-crop systems, which enable high biomass yields per year by cultivating two crops and at the same time distribute cultivation risks over two crops, the triple use of husked grain is intended to achieve high biomass yields per cultivation season. The first step is to use the whole plant before the husked grain flowers to produce fodder. The subsequent resprouting leads to a second growth, which can result in an additional grain yield. The straw resulting from threshing is the third form of use.

If one utilization option fails, e.g. due to hail, the other options still lead to a partial yield, which contributes to the described increase in resilience. If all options can be used, this leads to an increase in yield and productivity.

This approach requires special varieties that are characterized by a high tillering ability and a fast resprouting ability with whole-plant harvesting before flowering. In this project, the breeding project partners are selecting such breeding strains and varieties and testing their suitability (location and annual weather conditions) at several locations in several stages. The aim is to identify and develop suitable varieties for the described production direction.