UK Must Develop Drought-Tolerant Wheat to Protect Food Security Against Climate Change

The University of Hertfordshire has warned that the UK must urgently start developing drought-tolerant wheat and adopt precision irrigation methods to protect food security in the face of climate change. Wheat is the UK's most important arable crop, providing around 20% of the calories consumed in the country. While yields have remained relatively stable over the past three decades, increasingly frequent extremes of wet and dry weather pose a threat to the future security of the crop. Researchers have drawn on research from Egypt, where an international team of agricultural scientists modelled how targeted irrigation strategies and crop selection could boost yields and improve water efficiency in a climate-stressed environment.

Key Takeaways:

• The UK needs to start developing drought-tolerant wheat to protect food security against climate change, as wheat is the nation's most important arable crop, providing around 20% of the calories consumed.
• Researchers have found that targeted irrigation strategies and crop selection can boost yields and improve water efficiency in a climate-stressed environment, as tested in a study in Egypt.
• Two of the three wheat cultivars (Shandweel1 and Sids1) performed better under water-limited conditions, achieving 15-20% higher water-use efficiency.
• Modest rises in CO2 (420-440 ppm) and temperature (+1 C to +2 C) boosted wheat yield and increased water efficiency by about 10% to 25%.
• Hotter conditions above +3 C significantly reduced benefits, especially for heat-sensitive cultivars (such as Sakha94).
• The UK recorded its third-lowest arable harvest since 1984, with wheat harvest reporting a 20% decline from 2023, according to the UK's Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra).
• Bruce Fitt, Emeritus Professor of plant pathology at the University of Hertfordshire, said that yield losses are already expected in drier regions across England due to water stress, potentially increasing reliance on food imports.
• Dr Maha Elsayed, formerly a Post Doctoral Research Fellow in the School of Health, Life and Medical Sciences at the University of Hertfordshire, said that farmers and breeders must act now to secure future wheat harvests.

Statistics:

• 20% of calories consumed in the UK are from wheat.
• 15-20% higher water-use efficiency under water-limited conditions.
• 10-25% increase in wheat yield and water efficiency due to modest rises in CO2 (420-440 ppm) and temperature (+1 C to +2 C).
• 20% decline in wheat harvest from 2023, according to the UK's Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra).
• Third-lowest arable harvest since 1984.

Sources:

• University of Hertfordshire
• Agricultural Water Management journal
• Newton Fund Impact Scheme (grant ID number 623765768)
• Newton-Mosharafa Fund in partnership with Egypt
• Egyptian Science, Technology and Innovation Funding Authority (grant number 42687)
• British Council
• International Science Partnership Fund
• University of Hertfordshire's School of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences