Perennial Wheat What is Perennial Wheat?

Perennial Wheat
What is Perennial Wheat?
Perennial wheat is a new crop under development. It has the potential to be act as a multi-purpose crop, one that can be grown
for grain, fodder and environmental benefits (Glover et al., 2010). Perennial wheat was developed by plant breeders through
repeated crossing of annual wheat (Triticum aestivum) with perennial grasses such as Thinopyrum intermedium and Thinopyrum
elongatum. The new crop was selected to have a perennial growth habit, while exhibiting grain characteristics similar to that of
the annual wheat parent. The majority of the genetic makeup of this new crop is that of annual wheat. A word of caution: the
lines of perennial wheat that are available currently, that we have tested in Michigan, are in most cases not uniform. They exhibit
a range of head types, sterility and other characteristics indicative of a heterogeneous population that is unstable.
Characteristic:
Value:
Forage
Quality of leaves cut for forage varied with age of the plants, young leaves in spring
were high quality and stover at harvest was low quality
• Neutral detergent fiber (NDF) values ranged from 46% to 78%
• Acid detergent fiber (ADF) from 21% to 49%
Roots to conserve soil and moisture
Rooting depth is 3 to 8 ft after 2 years
• Preliminary research shows that perennial grains can reduce nitrogen losses
from leaching to almost zero, for high quality water
• Soil organic matter takes time to build up, but soil biology is supported by
perennial grains as indicated by high carbon mineralization
Grain for livestock feed or flour
Flour quality is low but grain has been used to produce baked goods
• Scones baked with perennial wheat reported to have a ‘nutty taste’
More information can be found at www.pwheat.anr.msu.edu
Photos show perennial wheat lines growing at the W.K. Kellogg Biological Station (KBS) in southwest Michigan.
Grain Yield % of Annual
Annual wheat is shown growing on the left, perennial wheat in the middle and intermediate wheatgrass ‘Kernza’
(a new perennial cereal underdevelopment) on the right, at the KBS station in southwest Michigan.
First Year
Second Year
100
80
60
40
20
0
P3
P11
P15
P19
Perennial wheat yields in the first year of growth and the second year (after regrowth) for four lines (P3,
P11, P15 and P19) from the Washington State University breeding program. The yields are from small
plots grown at KBS, with perennial lines showing about 40 to 60% of the yield potential of annual wheat
(Jaikumar et al., 2012).
The future of perennial wheat
Perennial wheat is a novel type of crop. After four years of growing it in Michigan there are a number of
challenges associated with growing the varieties (lines) that were developed by plant breeders. We have
observed poor regrowth of the plants after the grain is harvested. The poorest regrowth occurred at KBS
on infertile soils where very few perennial wheat plants regrew in the hot, dry summers of 2010 and 2012.
Regrowth was good in 2011, and the subsequent spring forage production was good that year (Tinsley,
2012). Weed management has also been a problem, as the plants dieback after grain is harvested. This
gives weeds a window of about a month to invade before the perennial wheat starts to regrow vigorously.
On a positive note, our research at KBS has shown strong environmental benefits associated with
perennial cereals, including improvements in water quality (no nitrate leaching) and soil biology (Culman et
al., 2013). Another potential benefit from perennial cereals is to use the novel germplasm as a source of
disease resistance to improve wheat varieties through plant breeding. To explore this further, a
greenhouse disease resistance study was carried out to test multiple lines for resistance to Fusarium Head
Blight (FHB).
100
Percent of Spikelets Infected
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
A greenhouse inoculation study shows the percentage of Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) infected spikelets
out of the total number of spikelets that were inoculated with Fusarium graminearum. On the left are two
susceptible (black columns) and two resistant (gray columns) annual wheat varieties (‘Ambassador’,
‘Wheaton’, ‘Truman’, and ‘Sumai 3’). Perennial wheat lines are shown on the right with diagonal pattern
columns plus an intermediate wheatgrass line TLI-C1 and perennial rye (Secale cereale x montanum)
‘Rival Rye’. A wide range of resistance is demonstrated in these perennial cereals.
Summary
Our initial experience with perennial wheat in Michigan shows that it has the potential to provide farmers
with an entirely new type of crop, one that is environmentally friendly and produces multiple products, e.g.,
a specialty small grain and forage. However, the crop needs considerable improvement before it can be
recommended to farmers in Michigan. A major concern is that the genetics are not yet improved enough to
be consistent: varieties of perennial wheat need to be further developed that support vigorous regrowth
and higher grain yields. Check for the latest information on this novel crop ‘perennial wheat’ at
www.pwheat.anr.msu.edu. We welcome your comments and thoughts!
Authors: Sieg Snapp, W.K. Kellogg Biological Station and Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences
and Vicki Morrone, Center for Regional Food Systems and Department of Community Sustainability, Michigan
State University
References
Culman, S.W., S.S. Snapp, M. Ollenburger, B. Basso and L.R. DeHaan. 2013. Soil and water quality
rapidly responds to the developing perennial grain, kernza wheatgrass. Agronomy Journal 105:735744
Glover, J.D., Reganold, J.P., Bell, L.W., Borevitz, J., Brummer, E.C., Buckler, E.S., Cox, C.M., Cox, T.S.,
Crews, T.E., Culman, S.W., DeHaan, L.R., Eriksson, D., Gill, B.S., Holland, J., Hu, F., Hulke, B.S.,
Ibrahim, A.M.H., Jackson, W., Jones, S.S., Murray, S.C., Paterson, A.H., Ploschuk, E., Sacks, E.J.,
Snapp, S., Tao, D., Van Tassel, D.L., Wade, L.J., Wyse, D.L., Xu, Y. 2010. Increasing food and
ecosystem security through perennial grain breeding. Science 328:1638-1639.
Jaikumar, N., S.S. Snapp, K. Murphy, and S. Jones. 2012. A field assessment of the agronomic potential of
two novel perennial cereal crops. Agronomy J. 104:1716-1726.
Tinsley, S.G. MS Thesis ‘An evaluation of perennial wheat and intermediate wheatgrass as dual-purpose,
forage-grain crops under organic management’ Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences,
Michigan State University, December, 2012.