Study calls for development of perennial grains to combat hunger and help the environment

New research suggests the future of agriculture could lie with perennial grain crops that could be developed within the next 20 years. Perennial grains are considered more environmentally friendly because they would grow with less fertilizer, herbicide, fuel, and erosion than grains planted annually, Seed Daily reports, citing a paper mainly written by John Reganold, Washington State University regents professor of soil science. He said "Perennial grains would be one of the largest innovations in the 10,000-year history of agriculture, and could arrive even sooner with the right breeding programs."

"It really depends on the breakthroughs," Reganold told Seed Daily. "The more people involved in this, the more it cuts down the time." Reganold classified the paper in the journal Science as a call to action because half the world lives on marginal land at risk of being degraded by cultivation of annual grains. "People talk about food security," Reganold explained. "That's only half the issue. We need to talk about both food and ecosystem security."
Perennial grains "have longer growing seasons than annual crops and deeper roots that let the plants take greater advantage of precipitation," Seed Daily notes. "Their larger roots, which can reach 10 to 12 feet down, reduce erosion, build soil and sequester carbon from the atmosphere." Reganold added, "Developing perennial versions of our major grain crops would address many of the environmental limitations of annuals while helping to feed an increasingly hungry planet." (Read more)