Richard Trethowan - Plant Breeding

Drought-resistant crops and eficient agriculture

Agriculture is one of the keystones of the sustainability movement. There’s no issue more important than how the earth is used to support its inhabitants. With limited arable land and a finite amount of fresh water, it is vital to farm efficiently.

At present, agriculture accounts for 93% of fresh water consumption. Some estimates project that global food supply will need to double by 2050 to keep pace with population increase.

This means farmers need to double the productivity of their food systems, using roughly the same amount of water – a phenomenal challenge!

This is a message Professor Trethowan is keen to communicate. With a background in plant breeding and the development of waterefficient cultivars, he has first-hand knowledge of the technologies that will be needed to create a sustainable future.

As leader of global wheat breeding for rain-fed environments at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, located near Mexico City, he was responsible for a project to develop and test resource-useefficient wheat germplasm. A number of cultivars have since been selected from these materials and released to farmers around the world.

Trethowan’s particular research interest is the development of crop cultivars that use water more efficiently. He has exploited naturally occurring genetic variation in the precursor species of wheat to achieve significant gains in productivity under drought stress.

This work benefits the agriculture industry in many ways: it increases productivity, raises income, and improves the sustainability of farming systems.

A combined genetic and agronomic approach to improving productivity – while maintaining the resource base – is vital in the context of climate change.