Soon, 'Anti-Flood' Cereal Crops!

Every year, farmers across the globe fall prey to the increasing frequency of catastrophic floods. Plants starved of oxygen cannot survive flooding for long period of time. Persistent flooding and saturated arable land can wipe out crops and reduce harvests. Average yields can be reduced by up to 50 percent as a result of water-logging. Barley is comparatively more susceptible to water-logging than other cereals. Therefore, a move towards developing flood tolerant crops is a key target for global food security. According to a latest study published in Plant Biotechnology Journal, a group of scientists have identified the mechanism used by plants in stress conditions to sense low oxygen levels. Michael Holdsworth and colleagues had identified the mechanism used by plants in stress conditions to sense low oxygen levels. Now, the experts have been able to move a step further and have discovered how this works in barley. "We now know how to breed barley cultivars more tolerant to water-logging and flooding," said Michael Holdsworth, professor of crop science in University of Nottingham. "Barley cultivars with the capability to withstand water-logging have excellent growth, superior yields, retain their green appearance due to chlorophyll retention and have a more efficient metabolism even in low oxygen conditions," Holdsworth noted. "We now have the strategy developed for plant breeding to select for enhanced tolerance to water-logging in barley and other crops," Holdsworth said. Experts hope that this may lead to the introduction of cereal crops better able to tolerate flooding and assist in maintaining food security. It may also help curbing crop wastage that occurs due to floods or water-logging.