Producing more with less adapting high-yielding barley varieties to low-input agriculture

Agriculture is under enormous pressure to increase crop yield and quality for food, feed and other products, while reducing its' carbon footprint. The James Hutton Institute and University of Dundee offer a 4-year fully funded PhD studentship to determine barley traits adapted to sustainable crop production. This research project will be conducted in partnership with Diageo and will offer the opportunity to undertake an extra industrially relevant qualification, alongside valuable industrial experience during a hosted placement within a Technical Division of Diageo.

Barley is a critical crop for the brewing and distilling industry where Diageo is a leading player in the food & drinks sector. Barley is also an important component of animal feed.

While high-yielding varieties selected to maximise their responses to non-renewable inputs, intense soil management and monoculture have guaranteed profitable yields over the past 60-years, it is now clear that their environmental impact will be unsustainable in 21st century agriculture. Conceptually novel varieties, tailored to the so called low-carbon agronomy are therefore needed to ensure global food security.

Chief in achieving this ambitious objective will be identifying genetically determined traits, underpinning barley's adaptation to the soil environment. We hypothesis that root traits (e.g. architecture, hairs & exudates) are associated with adaptation to low carbon systems (e.g.no-tillage) and plants' responses are integrally linked in a feedback loop to soil characteristics (e.g. microbiota) and soil resources (e.g. nitrogen, soil carbon)

Research will start with literature reviews (incl. meta-analysis), to extract barley genotypes and germplasm with differential responses to tillage in different soils, potential root traits of interest, soil impacts (inc. soil history, environment/climate etc.), and methodologies for rapid screens (Obj1). Rapid variety screens will calibrate traits against key soil physical and health traits (e.g. structure, sand/loam composition, nutrient levels) using traditional and imaging technologies (Obj2).

These will be followed by plot field trials under differential tillage conditions (Obj3). While, this project will focus on plant traits, soil health characteristics and soil structure will be investigated (e.g. via the Soil Health Card system, water, soil strength & structure, C & N ). Genetic indicators of traits and effects on soil microbiome will be achieved through comparative genomics, metagenomic and transcriptomics profiles of adapted lines and rhizosphere where appropriate (Obj4).

The outcome will be identification of barley traits associated with soil tillage adaptation and their impact on productivity and soil health under low carbon production agronomy which will be valuable for barley breeding and agronomic advice.