Perennial Grains: Could Kernza Replace Wheat?

Dr. Russell Sharp explores perennial arable crops such as kernza, perennial rice, and sorghum; discussing their advantages (reduced tillage, deeper roots, soil health), current commercial status, and practical challenges such as lower yields, pests, and multi-year management. The episode also covers breeding and gene-editing targets to improve traits, global research efforts, and the potential for growing perennials in hydroponic systems and niche value markets. https://eutrema.co.uk/ Norman Borlaug — CIMMYT Sanjaya Rajaram — CIMMYT Surinder Vasal — CIMMYT Ravi Prakash Singh — CIMMYT Neelamraju G. P. Rao — Indian Agricultural Research Institute / Vasantrao Naik MAU Gebisa Ejeta — Purdue University Ronnie Coffman — IRRI / Cornell University Dilbagh S. Athwal — Punjab Agricultural University / IRRI William L. Brown — Pioneer Hi-Bred Richard Boyles — Clemson University John Holland — USDA Agricultural Research Service Stephen Jones — Kansas State University Jeffery Dahlberg — USDA Agricultural Research Service Kulvinder Gill — University of Saskatchewan Peter Langridge — University of Adelaide Matthew Reynolds — CIMMYT Mark Sorrells — Cornell University Jorge Dubcovsky — University of California Davis Peter Snape — NIAB Brian Quinlan — CSIRO Susan McCouch — Cornell University Guoyou Ye — Huazhong Agricultural University Rod Wing — University of Arizona Hei Leung — International Rice Research Institute Edgardo Ibanez — International Rice Research Institute Rajeev Varshney — University of Queensland David Mackill — University of California Riverside Takuji Sasaki — Kyoto University Qifa Zhang — Huazhong Agricultural University Yulin Jia — USDA Agricultural Research Service Acharya H. D. Upadhyaya — ICRISAT Ashok Kumar — ICRISAT Sean Mayes — ICRISAT Ephrem Habyarimana — ICRISAT Vijay Reddy — ICRISAT Tim Setter — Kansas State University David Jordan — Texas A&M University William Rooney — Texas A&M AgriLife Mark Burow — Texas A&M University Amir Ibrahim — Texas A&M University Jackie Rudd — Texas A&M University Dirk Hays — Texas A&M University Jesse Poland — Kansas State University Kuldeep Singh — CIMMYT Yiping Tong — CIMMYT B. S. Gill — University of Missouri Ian King — University of Adelaide David Hodson — CIMMYT Jose Hernandez Prado — CIMMYT Brian Moore — University of Minnesota Tom Blake — Montana State University Kent McCue — USDA Agricultural Research Service Hamlyn Jones — NIAB Graham Moore — John Innes Centre Tianyou Wang — Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences Lijia Qu — Institute of Crop Sciences, CAAS Jianfeng Xu — Sichuan Agricultural University Zonglie Hong — China Agricultural University Shizhong Xu — China National Rice Research Institute Jen-Tsung Chen — Taiwan Rice Research Institute Chih-Hsiung Huang — Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute Chris Proud — Rice Breeding Australia Guy McMullen — NSW Department of Primary Industries Maqbool Ahmad — RAGT Australia Sam Willsmore — LongReach Plant Breeders Vicki Kokolakis — Australian Grain Technologies Jacob Hayes — Australian Grain Technologies Simon Crane — Seednet Tara King — Nuseed Kirk Brehaut — RAGT Kristy Hobson — NSW Department of Primary Industries B. R. Barwale — Mahyco Abdul Shafi Ali — Agricultural Research Center, Egypt Getinet Gebeyehu — Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research Bement Gashawbeza — Debre Zeit Agricultural Research Center James Owuoche — Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization Mohammed Siddig — Sudan Agricultural Research Corporation Mahdi Ali — Agricultural Research Corporation, Sudan Ahmed Elwali — Agricultural Research Corporation, Sudan Ali Zeghida — Technical Institute of Field Crops, Algeria S. K. Singh — Indian Agricultural Research Institute R. K. Singh — Indian Council of Agricultural Research M. S. Swaminathan — M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation N. K. Singh — Indian Agricultural Research Institute A. K. Singh — ICRISAT P. S. Rao — University of Hyderabad S. L. Sheshshayee — ICRISAT Bharat B. Chattoo — University of Delhi Bruce Roe — Clemson University Yves Vigouroux — CIRAD Ping Yu — Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences Mark Tucker — University of Nottingham June Simpson — CSIRO Tom Payne — CIMMYT Brian Steffenson — University of Minnesota Harold Stalker — USDA Agricultural Research Service Shyamal Talukder — Texas A&M University David Stelly — Texas A&M University Rajaram V. — CIMMYT Peter Snape — NIAB