The wet and windy climate of Wales has always posed extra challenges to growing cereal crops. Increases in feed costs have generated more interest in growing cereals in Wales, but input costs have risen sharply, grain markets are volatile and cash flow is under severe pressure in the tough economic climate. Pesticide and water quality legislation could restrict the use of several key plant protection chemicals; and the effects of climate change could present yet more challenges.
Nevertheless, despite the challenges, innovative work at Bangor and Aberystwyth universities is helping to realise the significant opportunities that cereals provide for Wales. Demand for local food, health concerns and the healthy properties of barley and oats, the traditional Welsh cereals, make these increasingly attractive.
Naked barley offers value-added outputs in the form of bread and breakfast cereals that can help lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of diabetes. On I July, there will be a chance to see the agronomy and breeding work done on the new crop at Bangor’s Henfaes Field Station, and to taste some of the products.
As Edward Dickin of Bangor University’s Henfaes Research Centre explains: "At present, there are no varieties of naked barley bred for UK conditions. Therefore we are using an innovative system of natural selection that Bangor scientists have already proved to produce tough, well-adapted varieties in the developing world. The system utilises a few ’clever crosses’ between carefully selected parents, in contrast to commercial barley breeding programmes that may make 1500 crosses per year.
Wide crosses, for example between UK and Himalayan varieties, produce hybrid populations with large variation between plants. When these populations are grown in the field, and exposed to the north Wales climate, natural selection acts on the variation, as described in Darwin’s Origin of Species. Plants with better adaptation to the climate contribute more seeds to the next generation, and hence the population improves with each generation. After several seasons, ears can be selected and seed multiplied to produce pure lines, ready for National List Testing."
