‘Gold mine’ of century-old wheat varieties could help breeders restore long lost traits Historic traits could make modern wheat more resilient to disease and other stressors 17 JUN 20243:20 PM ETBYERIK STOKSTAD

https://www.science.org/content/article/gold-mine-century-old-wheat-varieties-could-help-breeders-restore-long-lost-traits?utm_source=Live+Audience&utm_campaign=507caab053-nature-briefing-daily-20240618&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b27a691814-507caab053-50432164 An antique collection of wheat from around the world could breathe new vigor into the staple. When plant breeders created modern wheat during the 19th and 20th centuries, they focused on crossing and selectively breeding a few key varieties, creating a finicky racehorse of a crop: high yielding but vulnerable to disease, heat, and drought and reliant on a liberal application of fertilizer. Part of the solution, according to a study published today by Nature, may lie in the genetic diversity in 827 kinds of wheat, many of them long vanished from farms.