On a field trip to the gene bank. What is the future of grain?
When you say flour, few people think of scientists trying to preserve old varieties of cereals and breed new genetic resources for future generations. All the more interesting was the meeting at the Research Institute of Plant Production (VÚRV), where the people from Ambiente took away another (scientific) piece of the puzzle that is emerging in their quest for grain.
"We have an overproduction of cereals in our country. We grow around seven million tonnes of grain a year, of which we consume two and a half million and export the rest. The time is coming when we can and must reflect on the quality. It needs to be sought and communicated to the wider public," said Jiří Hermuth, organiser of the workshop, which invited research and gastronomy to the table - It is in restaurants that scientific theory translates into everyday reality on the plate, confirming its relevance to society.
Diversity by law
The work of the gene bank is sanctified by the law on genetic resources and biodiversity - in Ruzyně, they keep more than 54,000 seeds and vegetatively propagated crops preserving the history of mankind. "The genebank aims to to preserve the diversity of our region for future generations and ensure that we have something to eat and something to come back to. The Czech Republic is a rich country in its own way - not every country can afford something like this," Ludmila Papoušková said of the Genobank tour, adding:
"We are trying to duplicate the most valuable, purely Czech materials for safety in case of disaster or war. We have already sent about 1,800 samples to gene bank in Spitsbergen. The rest are stored in Slovakia."
Below freezing
Crop seeds are stored in special chambers - at the globally accepted temperature of -18 °C, which guarantees the long life of the samples. "Harvested seeds must be cleaned and, above all, dried to a moisture content of between 5 and 8 %, otherwise they will tear in the cold. To be on the safe side, we attach a silicarbon filter material to the samples, which will turn colour when the humidity increases and alert us to the problem," said Ludmila Papoušková, who took out a jar with a barcode from the container - careful record-keeping prevents the risk of confusion.
A certain number of seeds are kept from each sample (depending on the type of crop), so there are more than 110 000 jars in storage. "Cereals in particular should last up to 30 years under the right conditions. However, we take stock on an ongoing basis and we carry out germination tests. Once the germination rate drops, the seeds are regenerated, i.e. sown, harvested and stored again. It's a lot of work, but it makes sense," Ludmila Papoušková emphasised as the participants (quickly!) looked around one of the frost chambers.
Measuring quality
Several teams across the country are involved in archiving Czech heritage - different crops are entitled to their own curator and are examined in the locations where they were traditionally grown. The genetic resources of hops are concentrated in Žatecko, apricots in South Moravia, apple trees in Holovousy and potatoes in Havlíčkův Brod. Thanks to this, not only the agricultural tradition in the Czech Republic is mapped, but also the regional diversity and character of the individual micro-regions.
"In Ruzyně, we focus on cereals, especially wheat, barley and triticale, a cross between wheat and rye. However, we also include buckwheat or millet in our portfolio, which have been pushed out of Czech fields due to more profitable varieties," summarised Václav Dvořáček, who heads the team for the quality of plant products, and then explained how grain is evaluated in the laboratory in Ruzyně. The basic measurement works on principles that are more than a hundred years old and tells us about the chemical and technological quality of the grain.
"Primarily it is about purchasing parameters, such as grain contamination, grain size or protein, including gluten. We have several instruments, among the older ones is the green sedimentation test, which shakes the grain in lactic acid. This is used to determine the swelling and volume of the bread, which is one of the basic criteria of bakery quality, as well as the resistance of the dough during proofing," Václav said, adding:
"Unfortunately, we don't have the resources to test the nutritional quality of all genetic sources, such as fibre and polyphenol content or celiac reactivity. Fortunately, some cereals are included in projects that test for their their benefits at the nutritional and ecological level.. We simply cannot do without it - cereals have been and are an essential part of our diet and our landscape."
Experiments in the field
From the gene bank's facilities, it's less than two kilometres to the experimental field where they are trying to pre-grow tomorrow's grains on plates. A short walk from the airport, the newly bred varieties of cereals undergoing stress tests. While the brewers present have been surrounding the barley plots, the bakers and confectioners have spent most of their time in the wheat fields.
"We are interested in the minor plough wheat varieties - spelt, two-grain and single-grain that are worth bringing back into the game. People have always multiplied ears of different regional varieties, but for example neither the single grain nor the double grain has undergone purposeful crossbreeding.. This only started to happen at the beginning of the 20th century. This is also the reason why they have a higher proportion of valuable substances," Václav Dvořáček compared the older varieties with the long-bred sowing wheat.
Bakers turned their attention to gluten. This has a different structure and quality in the case of hairy wheat, which is reflected in the dough and the volume of the baked goods. In addition, research has found that single grain contains proteins that are less allergenic.
Advances and returns
Cereal breeding reflects progress that should not forget where it came from. "The source for modern wheat was and is landraces, from which modern materials have evolved through selection, breeding or mutagenesis. These are able to cope with the conditions in agriculture and meet the demands of processors," said Václav Dvořáček and continued:
"On the other hand, let's say that the main purpose of breeding is to yield. We once compared a modern variety of sown wheat with an old wheat of Hungarian origin, which had up to 15% higher baking potential. So we can't say that we're breeding to surpass the quality of the original material, we're just combining and varying different parameters."
In addition: Rye is considered to be a typical Czech bread product, but wheat is also considered to be typical. There are about 160 varieties of sown wheat in the Czech Republic. The most cultivated variety occupies only 6 to 8 % of the area - variability in our fields is therefore great, due to the field of breeding. It takes twelve to fifteen years to breed a variety, but thanks to competitive pressure the process has been cut to five years.
In the experimental field, the varieties are planted side by side so that the morphological differences between the plants - and the results of the breeding - can be observed. "A revolution in agriculture has been brought about, for example the breeding of short-stalked wheat. Suddenly the crop could be sown thickly without the risk of lodging and yield loss as in the case of archaic crops. This is one of the reasons why wheat yields multiplied in the late 1980s, and why taking the lead from oats and rye," commented Václav, noting:
"Nevertheless, I would not be afraid to say that some of the old regional varieties are as good as modern elite varieties, if not better. They may even cope better with climate change. A longer stalk means a longer root system, which could make them more easily survive dramatic droughts and they have a track record of adaptation - hundreds of years of learning to adapt to their location. In addition to this, consideration is being given to growing multi-species lines that would respond better to environmental changes."
Climate as an impetus
Climate change has long been a reality for farmers, research and gastronomy. Culinary tradition is, after all, shaped by nature itself which, while responding to man's actions, acts in its own way, determining the composition of the crops in the fields and in the kitchen.
'Climate change is giving us the impetus to turn to varieties that can withstand drought and find a place in gastronomy. Examples are the so-called C4 crops. Sorghum grain or Italian beurre blanc," said Jiří Hermuth, who is behind the breeding of one sorghum variety and two beurre blanc varieties. Specifically, sorghum is one of the five most cultivated cereals in the world, but most European cooks and bakers are only just getting to grips with it. It's already a hit with brewers, with the workshop spilling sorghum beer from Clock Brewery.
The gastro scene also offers coloured wheat and hopefully soon Czech semolina. "The home of durum wheat is Italy, but it is also grown in Austria and Slovakia, which is the fifth largest producer in Europe. The climate was not ideal for it in this country before, but now, due to warming, locations are emerging in southern Moravia and Polabíwhere durum could thrive and resolve fears of crop failure. At the same time, it would boost the food self-sufficiency of the Czech Republic," Jiří Hermuth expressed his vision and handed over the floor to a representative from Ruzyně Airport, which, in cooperation with VÚRV, is sowing the surrounding areas with various crops, including a nectar-forming mixture for insects - the aim is primarily to raise awareness of biodiversity.
Greening!
The climate, the needs of the tired soil and therefore the experiments of the VÚRV are mainly heard by organic farming. "We are grateful for cooperation with organic farmers and people like Mr. Hutař from Probio or Jiří Prachař, the director of the Farmers' Schoolwhich will be operating at the Research Institute from September. They are keen to experiment, educate and get varieties to customers. Without them, our knowledge would remain in storage or in a theoretical template," emphasised Václav Dvořáček, predicting:
"We are facing the gradual greening of agriculture. Conventional food production is perceived negatively and pressure for change is coming from both the EU and the government. In addition to this, there is the inevitable automation and digitalisation. It is difficult to judge whether this is all right or not. We are part of progress and we can only learn from it, just as our ancestors did."
