Abstract
The annual crop production systems contribute to increased nutrient leaching and degradation of soil fertility. They demand high inputs of fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. A more diversified agriculture with both annual and perennial crops can be a key to a sustainable future agriculture. Benefits of perennial crops can be many; reduced energy consumption, soil compaction, nutrient leaching and greenhouse gas emission, and increased soil carbon sequestration. This will contribute to climate change mitigation. However, profound knowledge about the contribution of perennial crops is lacking since there are very few relevant scientific studies that have compared annual and perennial crop production systems. The reason is the scarcity of bred perennial relatives, except for wheat, for comparisons with the annual crops. To evaluate whether perennial cereals can be an important component of sustainable agriculture we will 1) identify differences in agronomic traits in annual and perennial wheat and wheatgrass grown on soils with different nutrient status, 2) identify differences in overwintering ability between different lines of perennial wheat and wheatgrass in northern, central and southern Sweden, 3) develop perennial barley material for comparison with cultivated annual barley, 4) improve knowledge of the genetic basis of perennial habit for future cereal breeding and 5) exchange knowledge with farmers and researchers during the project
Sweden