Resilient crops for the North Sea Region

Field crops are under pressure due to climate change. Knowledge on how they respond to single abiotic stress is available, but the less known effects of multiple stresses for developing more robust crops. The aim is to pinpoint more robust genotypes among current and future field crops as they in the future will be increasingly exposed to drought/water logging, heat and elevated CO2: factors linked to global change.

As an example wheat constitutes 46% of EU’s cereal production and is predicted to move North, a more resilient future crop is needed.

The project will contribute to the establishment of a comprehensive assessment of responses of field crops in NSR to multiple stresses (without use of GMO). The work has the potential to enable a steep change in breeding rates by screening of existing genotypes supplied by breeders and acceleration the breeding process. The results can be implemented through key stakeholders and working with regional authorities

• SLU, Sweden
• NMBIO, Norway

• research partners
• commerical partners such as breeders
• innovative farmers