The race against time to breed a wheat to survive the climate crisis

Scientists are testing forgotten wheat varieties from across the world to find those with heat- and drought-tolerant traitsA dozen or so farm workers perched on wooden stools carefully emasculate wheat spikes using nail scissors and tweezers - the first step in a years-long breeding process to develop climate-resilient varieties.It's late afternoon, and the farmhands are shaded by wide-brimmed sun hats as they work in an experimental wheat field in northern Mexico, preparing the wheat flowers to be cross-pollinated in a couple of days. For each pollination, both wheat parents have been selected by crop scientists for desirable traits such as fungus resistance, photosynthesis efficiency, and yield. Continue reading...