Heat and drought tolerance of barley | Umweltbundesamt

Climate change has already arrived in Bavaria - it can be felt and measured. The average temperature in this country has risen by about 1.1 ° C between 1931 and 2010. In the sensitive Alpine region, temperatures have even risen twice as fast in the past 100 years as the global average. Bavaria is not spared the inevitable changes in climate change. More extreme weather events, wet winters and drier and hotter summers are expected in the future. The forecasts predict an increase in average temperatures of 0.5 ° C to 1.5 ° C for the period from 2021 to 2050 and from 1.5 ° C to 3.5 ° C for the period from 2071 to 2100. The consequences of these developments are also evident in the municipalities in Bavaria and have an impact on people's lives.

The consequences of these developments are also evident in the municipalities in Bavaria and have an impact on people's lives. To mitigate the consequences of climate change, Bavaria has decided on a climate protection strategy. Here are amongst others the protection of biological resources and the soil, as well as the adaptation of climate-sensitive areas in Bavaria in the foreground. A climate-sensitive area is agriculture. Dryness and heat pose a major challenge for crops. However, the application of classical compensatory strategies such as artificial irrigation is only partially possible and often resource-intensive. In order to be able to continue farming in Bavaria in the future as sparingly as possible, it is important to make the Bavarian crops fit for climate change. Strategies for the breeding of new stress-tolerant barley varieties were the focus of the project.

Biochemical and molecular biology analyzes were used to understand metabolic adaptations of plants that could lead to increased stress tolerance. Subsequently, differences in the genome of different sensitive barley varieties were identified for these factors so that they could be used for the breeding of new, stress-tolerant varieties. During the project, genetic factors were found that control the vitamin E content in barley varieties. Positive effects on the product quality of the plants could be demonstrated. In order to gain a deeper understanding of the regulatory networks that provide yield stability in barley plants beyond the project period, next generation sequencing (NGS) methods were used (RNA-Seq). The accumulated knowledge will help accelerate breeding efforts to make the Bavarian barley fit for climate change.