Exploring the Potential for Perennial Wheat in the UK'
Cereal crops dominate UK arable land, requiring annual tillage and leading to high costs, greenhouse gas emissions, and soil health concerns. Intermediate wheatgrass (IWG) is a perennial grass species, native to central/south-west Europe and western Asia, and is used as a forage crop for grazing or cutting, although its fairly slow re-growth means it is best suited to annual harvesting.
The Land Institute has spent many years developing IWG as a dual-purpose crop with its Grain sold under the trade name ‘Kernza’. Its extensive root system has highlighted IWG’s potential to increase the resilience of forage cropping systems to drought, whilst helping to improve soil structure, reduce erosion risk and build soil organic matter. Additionally, its suitability to local conditions and environmental benefits make it promising for high carbon capture cropping systems.
Field trials with Kernza cultivars at two locations will assess agronomic aspects and soil properties over four years as part of the CHCx3 project.
Phil Howell, NIAB
