Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Perennials as Future Grain Crops : Opportunities and Challenges

Chapman, Elizabeth A. ; Thomsen, Hanne Cecilie ; Tulloch, Sophia ; Correia, Pedro M.P. ; Luo, Guangbin ; Najafi, Javad ; DeHaan, Lee R. ; Crews, Timothy E. ; Olsson, Lennart LU and Lundquist, Per Olof , et al. (2022) In Frontiers in Plant Science 13.
Abstract

Perennial grain crops could make a valuable addition to sustainable agriculture, potentially even as an alternative to their annual counterparts. The ability of perennials to grow year after year significantly reduces the number of agricultural inputs required, in terms of both planting and weed control, while reduced tillage improves soil health and on-farm biodiversity. Presently, perennial grain crops are not grown at large scale, mainly due to their early stages of domestication and current low yields. Narrowing the yield gap between perennial and annual grain crops will depend on characterizing differences in their life cycles, resource allocation, and reproductive strategies and understanding the trade-offs between annualism,... (More)

Perennial grain crops could make a valuable addition to sustainable agriculture, potentially even as an alternative to their annual counterparts. The ability of perennials to grow year after year significantly reduces the number of agricultural inputs required, in terms of both planting and weed control, while reduced tillage improves soil health and on-farm biodiversity. Presently, perennial grain crops are not grown at large scale, mainly due to their early stages of domestication and current low yields. Narrowing the yield gap between perennial and annual grain crops will depend on characterizing differences in their life cycles, resource allocation, and reproductive strategies and understanding the trade-offs between annualism, perennialism, and yield. The genetic and biochemical pathways controlling plant growth, physiology, and senescence should be analyzed in perennial crop plants. This information could then be used to facilitate tailored genetic improvement of selected perennial grain crops to improve agronomic traits and enhance yield, while maintaining the benefits associated with perennialism.

(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and , et al. (More)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and (Less)
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
breeding, domestication, genome editing, grain crops, perennial agriculture, perennial grains, perennialism, species-wide hybridization
in
Frontiers in Plant Science
volume
13
article number
898769
publisher
Frontiers Media S. A.
external identifiers
  • pmid:35968139
  • scopus:85135935670
ISSN
1664-462X
DOI
10.3389/fpls.2022.898769
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
26104f70-a6a5-4aeb-bcc1-7b1c1199eb8c
date added to LUP
2022-11-02 14:22:47
date last changed
2025-03-21 19:29:06
@article{26104f70-a6a5-4aeb-bcc1-7b1c1199eb8c,
  abstract     = {{<p>Perennial grain crops could make a valuable addition to sustainable agriculture, potentially even as an alternative to their annual counterparts. The ability of perennials to grow year after year significantly reduces the number of agricultural inputs required, in terms of both planting and weed control, while reduced tillage improves soil health and on-farm biodiversity. Presently, perennial grain crops are not grown at large scale, mainly due to their early stages of domestication and current low yields. Narrowing the yield gap between perennial and annual grain crops will depend on characterizing differences in their life cycles, resource allocation, and reproductive strategies and understanding the trade-offs between annualism, perennialism, and yield. The genetic and biochemical pathways controlling plant growth, physiology, and senescence should be analyzed in perennial crop plants. This information could then be used to facilitate tailored genetic improvement of selected perennial grain crops to improve agronomic traits and enhance yield, while maintaining the benefits associated with perennialism.</p>}},
  author       = {{Chapman, Elizabeth A. and Thomsen, Hanne Cecilie and Tulloch, Sophia and Correia, Pedro M.P. and Luo, Guangbin and Najafi, Javad and DeHaan, Lee R. and Crews, Timothy E. and Olsson, Lennart and Lundquist, Per Olof and Westerbergh, Anna and Pedas, Pai Rosager and Knudsen, Søren and Palmgren, Michael}},
  issn         = {{1664-462X}},
  keywords     = {{breeding; domestication; genome editing; grain crops; perennial agriculture; perennial grains; perennialism; species-wide hybridization}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{07}},
  publisher    = {{Frontiers Media S. A.}},
  series       = {{Frontiers in Plant Science}},
  title        = {{Perennials as Future Grain Crops : Opportunities and Challenges}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2022.898769}},
  doi          = {{10.3389/fpls.2022.898769}},
  volume       = {{13}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}