In article , "Farm1"
wrote:

"Billy" wrote in message
In article , "Farm1"
wrote:
"songbird" wrote in message
Farm1 wrote:

Indeed. But none of that relates to the trial results for the
superwheat.

it may, because the researchers in the original article
say they still have to cross it with modern varieties.

Hmmm. I've just reread the article (again - I'm begining to wonder how
many
times I've reread it) and it's a wee bit ambiguous on that score.

Right at the beginning it says "researchers have cross-bred modern wheat
seed with ancient wild grass" whereas later in the article it says that
the
team "selected early wheat and grass varieties from seed banks across the
globe and cross-bred them for maximum potential." Rather different info
there innit?

once they do that will they lose the gain? i dunno and
i doubt they know either until it's attempted.

Well given the plateauing of production that followed further down the
years
after the breeding of modern wheat, it'd seem to be more logical that the
gains and plateauing would be follow along those lines TMWOT. But of
course
you are right - no-one will know until it's done and tested.

however, this doesn't get back to my other point which
is how much nutrients this new grain will suck from the
topsoil. if it becomes like corn, such a heavy feeder
that it requires huge amounts of inputs then i don't think
it's a gain for long-term sustainable agriculture.

Corn is indeed a heavy feeder. Given the wheat growing lands here in Oz,
I'd be very surprised if this new wheat came within a bull's roar of
having
the nutritional needs of corn. The new superwheat could end up being a
greedy beast, but I think you are anticipating problems before there is
any
need to do so at this stage.

This trial seems to have slipped under the radar when it comes to any
form
of discussion other than in this group. I think that's a shame given the
potential.

Farm1, the main thrust of this article is that we are running out of the
plant diversity that we need to create new resistant plants.

That is one of the major points of the trial. However there is no point in
pretending that the other, and more stressed in your original cite, is about
that 30% achievement in yield.
(snip)

It seems to be all about getting a new bag of tricks to work with in
creating new resistant cultivars.

It's also about yield.

I've found no comparisons between nutrient levels in old vs new "green
revolution" cultivars. If you find any, I would be most interested in
seeing them.

I haven't found any but then I haven't looked for any and I won't be
bothering to look for any. Songbird is the one who expressed some concerns
centring on the chance of wheat becoming a heavy feeder like corn. I doubt
that would happen and think that Songbird is worrying unnecessarily.

Give my condolences to the Mr. ;O)
--
Remember Rachel Corrie
http://www.rachelcorrie.org/

Welcome to the New America.
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