On RFD-TV: Stephen Baenziger

RFD TV Author

12/04/2020 Added

87 Plays

Description

Stephen Baenziger, professor and Wheat Growers Presidential Chair in UNL's Department of Agronomy and Horticuture, appears live on RFD-TV, Dec. 1, 2020, talking about new research toward hybrid wheat.

Searchable Transcript

Search:

[00:00:00.170]Well, the University of Nebraska- Lincoln
[00:00:02.110]is exploring the development of hybrid wheat varieties.
[00:00:05.330]That's as the world's population continues to grow
[00:00:07.370]and experts are estimating wheat productivity will need
[00:00:09.730]to improve to meet global demand.
[00:00:11.830]Professor and Wheat Growers Presidential Chair,
[00:00:14.140]Dr. Steven Baenziger joins us now.
[00:00:16.659]He's the, he's leading the process
[00:00:19.040]and has the latest insight on their efforts.
[00:00:22.060]And Dr. Baenziger thanks for your time for today.
[00:00:25.560]Bring us up to speed if you would
[00:00:27.010]on the research efforts that's taking place.
[00:00:29.591]Well, first of all,
[00:00:32.060]I'd like to acknowledge how important wheat
[00:00:34.010]is to the global economy.
[00:00:35.850]20% of all the calories humans consume and
[00:00:38.950]20% of all the protein that humans consume come from wheat.
[00:00:43.143]And the problem that we're,
[00:00:44.330]or the challenge we're facing is that
[00:00:46.870]we need to feed the growing world,
[00:00:49.030]which is becoming more prosperous
[00:00:50.630]and wheat is the first convenience food,
[00:00:52.828]needs to increase by 1.4 to 1.7%.
[00:00:57.021]And right now, depending on where you are,
[00:00:59.550]the rate of increase is only zero to 1%.
[00:01:03.190]So we have to try things that are different.
[00:01:05.280]We have to try things that are new,
[00:01:07.080]and one of those will be hybrid wheat.
[00:01:10.660]So how are you and other researchers working to develop
[00:01:13.950]those hybrid varieties?
[00:01:17.220]Well, there's actually a number of steps you have to do.
[00:01:19.500]The first one is you have to find heterosis.
[00:01:21.760]You have to find the hybrid vigor that gives you
[00:01:23.580]that increased yield.
[00:01:24.999]That actually, looks like to be the relatively easy part.
[00:01:28.880]The more difficult part is changing wheat
[00:01:32.870]from a self- pollinated crop to one
[00:01:35.410]that would be cross-pollinated like corn,
[00:01:37.350]where hybrids have been well-known as well
[00:01:39.523]as to develop commercial methods where
[00:01:42.410]you can produce the millions of bushels of seed
[00:01:45.698]that farmers can grow to reap that higher yield vantages.
[00:01:49.899]So we're working on both finding heterosis and mechanisms
[00:01:53.778]to allow commercial platforms to allow
[00:01:58.010]that heterosis to be used,
[00:01:59.930]and probably cytoplasmic male sterility,
[00:02:02.468]which is a forced female on the female wheat
[00:02:06.679]is one of our highest efforts.
[00:02:09.510]You mentioned making it like corn,
[00:02:11.310]as far as in the pollination process.
[00:02:12.850]We've had hybrid corn varieties for a number of years.
[00:02:15.186]Why is hybrid wheat, why is that just now in development?
[00:02:20.379]Well, it's actually had an earlier efforts
[00:02:23.630]in the 1980s and it failed
[00:02:26.440]and we're coming back to it now because
[00:02:28.390]we have much better tools.
[00:02:30.550]The need is always been there,
[00:02:32.540]but we didn't have the tools and we didn't have the support
[00:02:35.440]for this high, very, very high risk research.
[00:02:39.570]What are the potential benefits of this research
[00:02:42.400]for our nation's farmers?
[00:02:44.510]And is there a potential timeline as far
[00:02:46.523]as maybe even things being available?
[00:02:50.320]Well, the benefit would be of course the improved seed,
[00:02:54.260]the benefit would be the improved yield.
[00:02:56.260]That's what farmers will see.
[00:02:58.050]And then the timeline,
[00:02:59.720]the commercial companies are looking at probably 2023,
[00:03:03.133]2024, so that's when we expect it to occur.
[00:03:07.230]And would that availability be more for creating
[00:03:09.780]it as far as the seed stock
[00:03:11.060]or is that for actually putting it into use
[00:03:13.490]into the commercial system?
[00:03:16.338]We believe, and again,
[00:03:17.880]this would all be done by commercial companies.
[00:03:19.540]So it's somewhat proprietary information,
[00:03:21.540]but we believe that's when the commercial sales
[00:03:23.877]to farmers would begin.
[00:03:26.090]All right. Well, Dr. Baenziger,
[00:03:28.060]we appreciate your time this morning
[00:03:29.730]and good luck in your research efforts.
[00:03:31.860]Again, talking with Dr. Steven Baenziger.
[00:03:34.370]He's with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln,
[00:03:36.460]Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, of course,
[00:03:39.380]joining us on location there in the Husker state.

The screen size you are trying to search captions on is too small!

You can always jump over to MediaHub and check it out there.

Comments

0 Comments

On RFD-TV: Stephen Baenziger

Description

Searchable Transcript

Comments icon comment

Related Channels

Comments