The gene was found in a spontaneously occurring mutant of common bread wheat that grows three ovaries per flower.

Researchers prepared a detailed gene map of the mutant variety and compared it to regular wheat.

Why it Matters: Wheat yield increases have been lagging behind corn and soybeans.

They discovered that a normally dormant gene called WUSCHEL-D1 (WUS-D1) was switched on in the multi-ovary wheat.

“When WUS-D1 is active early in flower development, it enlarges the flower-building tissues, enabling them to produce extra female parts like pistils or ovaries,” the university stated in a press release.

Each ovary can develop into a grain of wheat, greatly increasing the potential yield for the crop because normal wheat plants only produce one ovary and one grain per floret.

“Pinpointing the genetic basis of this trait offers a path for breeders to incorporate it into new wheat varieties, potentially increasing the number of grains per spike and overall yield,” said Vijay Tiwari, associate professor of plant sciences at the university and co-author of the study.

The study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal.

Darcy Pawlik, executive director of the Wheat Growers Association, said the research discovery sounds exciting.

“He’s doing a lot of cool work there, and I’m sure there’s a lot of interest, no doubt,” he said.

“Good on him, and I’m sure it will lead to different applications and discoveries, whether it’s in wheat or a different cereal, who knows, but that’s great.”

However, over the years he has heard of a lot of similar yield-boosting discoveries that never came to fruition.

There is a long way to go between discovery and commercialization.

“Just because you have three kernels doesn’t mean you’re going to get extra yield,” said Pawlik.

Tiwari acknowledged that it is too simplistic to say the gene has the potential to triple wheat yields.

In large-scale trials under field conditions, 70 to 80 percent of the florets contained three grains of wheat, which is still impressive.

But there’s a catch.

“The catch is that the floral structure is still the same, so it does not have enough space to make three fully developed grains as we see with normal wheat,” said Tiwari.

The next step in the project is to find a way to expand the grain size. That might mean reducing the number of grains per floret to two, but those two would be heavier grains.

The Maryland researchers just planted the first winter wheat field trial of the trait in October.

They want to see what happens when they boost nitrogen fertilizer rates. The hope is that a 30 or 50 per cent increase results in heavier, plumper grain kernels.

Tiwari hopes to have the gene expressed in elite lines over the next 18 months. He will make that germplasm available to other breeders who want to use it to make crosses in their programs.

“By employing a gene editing toolkit, we can now focus on further improving this trait for enhancing wheat yield,” he said.

He also noted that the discovery provides a potentially exciting new route for developing cost-effective hybrid wheat.

Normal wheat usually has tiny florets that do not open much, making it difficult for hybrid wheat to pollinate.

The three ovaries in the mutant line forces the wheat florets to open wide, making the plant far more amenable to receiving pollen.

Seed cost is also a big barrier for hybrid wheat. If you can get three grains at the same cost, then that cost goes down significantly.

Tiwari said there are still some obstacles to overcome to make the plants suitable for hybrid wheat production.

His work is generating excitement around the world, including from major wheat breeding companies that are showing interest in doing some collaborative research.

Pawlik said that is where the rubber will hit the road with this new trait.

“That’s really where we see if it can maybe make a big difference in the marketplace,” he said.

BASF instead plans to focus on developing the new type of wheat in European markets, aiming to launch the technology there “toward the end of the decade,” the company said.

BASF said earlier this winter it would cut 2,600 jobs amid rising costs and weak earnings. Those job cuts included its North American hybrid wheat developers, BASF said.

Wheat breeders have been working for years to develop cross-bred wheat varieties to boost yields and make crops more resistant to drought or disease.

Tightening global grain supplies and soaring prices after Russia’s invasion of major wheat exporter Ukraine have focused further attention on the technology.

But the road to market has been slow because development is more costly and difficult, and companies saw lower potential for returns.

“The results of our North American trials have not achieved the development goals we set to meet the needs of growers in Canada and the United States,” BASF said in an emailed statement.

The company added that markets in Europe hold “the greatest opportunity to successfully bring this innovation to farmers.”

Chinese-owned seed maker Syngenta is an early leader in developing hybrid wheat, with a small number of U.S. fields due to plant it this year. BASF and Bayer also have varieties in development for launch later this decade.

Seed growers in the United States are expected to plant 5,000 to 7,000 acres of Syngenta’s hybrid wheat this year in preparation for a full commercial launch in 2024.

The company has been developing the crop since 2010, so it has been a long time coming. Hybrid corn has been on the market since the 1930s by comparison.

Syngenta Canada said there are no plans to advance hybrid wheat in Canada at this time.

Dan Wright, head of seeds for Syngenta Canada, said the company put its Canadian hybrid wheat breeding program on hold in 2018 and has not resuscitated it.

At the same time, the company stopped working on its first generation of hybrid wheat in the U.S. and started focusing on its more promising early-stage, second generation material.

It is that material that is now making its way to market in spring wheat varieties, but only south of the 49th parallel.

“The products continuing to come through the pipeline are not a fit for the industry standards that Canada has today,” said Wright.

There are different requirements for bringing products to market in Canada and the U.S. and the hybrid spring wheat varieties wouldn’t fit into Canada’s more stringent standards, he said.

Wright said Canada’s registration system is more complex and unpredictable, resulting in a longer timeline for bringing products to market.

“It does make Canada a more complicated launch territory for sure,” he said.

Gunter Jochum, president of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers, doesn’t know if hybrid wheat would be a good development for Canadian farmers.

“I don’t want to jump to conclusions and say, ‘we need this technology, we need it now,’” he said.

He noted that the hybridization of wheat is not the slam dunk it was with corn, because it is a far more complicated process in wheat.

“(The varieties) will have to prove themselves in the field,” he said.

But it irks him that farmers in this country won’t be able to see how they perform in their fields.

He believes that is the direct result of the federal government’s failed seed royalty consultation process.

The government was unsuccessful in achieving consensus on how to make variety development more lucrative in Canada after receiving serious pushback from farmers.

“It just never went anywhere, and it became quite a contentious issue,” said Jochum.

He believes Syngenta and other seed developers concluded that Canada does not have the right climate for recapturing investment.

Jochum thinks this is going to become a major impediment in Canada, especially for cereal crops like wheat.

Australia has a superior funding model by comparison that is resulting in hundreds of new wheat and barley varieties being commercialized in that market.

“We will ultimately be left behind, there’s no doubt about it,” said Jochum.

Canada is largely relying on public breeding programs for new wheat varieties. Those programs have produced decent varieties, but government researchers are spending too much time on fundraising these days and not enough on breeding, he said.

“Ten or 15 years from now we might really be wondering, what have we done by not encouraging a better environment for private breeders to operate in Canada?” said Jochum.

Wright said Syngenta’s decision had more to do with Canada’s registration system than its royalty system.

He said the company will continue to review its U.S. spring wheat hybrid program to see if there is a better fit for the Canadian market.

In the meantime, it plans to develop other varieties of interest for growers.

“Syngenta is very committed to the overall cereals market in Canada,” said Wright.

Reuters reports that Bayer and BASF are also developing hybrid wheat but are years behind Syngenta.