
Perennial Wheat
The Land Institute’s perennial wheat program creates hybrids made from crossing annual wheat species with wheatgrass species.
Through hybridization of winter durum wheat with intermediate wheatgrass, we have developed a new type of perennial wheat which could live for years in the field. Five stable lines were obtained in 2018 and seeds are being propagated for further evaluation across the world.
Why Perennial Wheat?
• Elite lines of perennial wheat currently yield grain about 50-70% that of annual wheat cultivars and we continue to make improvements.
• Some of our perennial wheat plants in Kansas have lived for nine years or more, six years in other locations.
• Twenty of the most promising crosses have been grown in nine different countries to see how particular genetic types vary in performance when grown.
Join us by supporting this work with a donation to The Land Institute.
Project Team

Shuwen Wang
Lead Scientist, Perennial Wheat

Maya Kathrineberg
Research Technician, Perennial Wheat and Crop Protection Genetics
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Nitrogen use efficiency is regulated by interacting proteins relevant to development in wheat
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