"Mai" step forward! Breeding new varieties to improve wheat productivity

In Taiwan's food culture, bread and pasta are becoming more and more common, second only to rice. Unlike rice, wheat used to make flour is almost entirely imported. In order to face the two major threats of climate change and oil shortages, it is necessary to increase the self-sufficiency rate of wheat. Currently, the Council of Agriculture is actively promoting domestic food self-sufficiency, selecting and breeding new varieties, and increasing the area of ​​wheat restoration, hoping that the people can eat more, fresher, and locally produced domestic wheat products.

The Taichung District Agricultural Improvement Station is actively breeding wheat varieties and has invited Japanese agricultural experts to conduct on-site inspections in the hope of increasing wheat production. (Photo courtesy of the Council of Agriculture)

In recent years, the Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan and the Taichung District Agricultural Improvement Station have been more actively engaged in wheat variety selection and breeding. With the changing dietary habits of the Taiwanese people and the rising international wheat prices, the country's food self-sufficiency rate has been increased. Wheat cultivation can be seen in many places, including Daya in Taichung and Xuejiawai in Tainan, Yuanli in Miaoli, Dongshi in Chiayi, and Yuli in Hualien.

Lin Jinhong, director of the Extension Section of the Taichung District Agricultural Improvement Station, pointed out that Taiwan had a history of growing wheat in the past, and wheat was introduced during the Japanese colonial era, which is why place names such as "Mailiao" appeared. However, as the income from growing rice became better, the area of ​​wheat cultivation declined. Taiwan's wheat planting reached a peak of 25,207 hectares in 1950. Later, because the price of imported wheat was much lower than the cost of domestic wheat cultivation, the cultivated area decreased year by year, and now there are only about 150 hectares left. The annual wheat import volume is approximately between 1 and 1.1 million tons.

In the past, wheat cultivation in Taiwan relied solely on self-reliance by the private sector. The agricultural sector lacked R&D personnel and equipment, just like an army that was poorly equipped and unable to fight in the face of a food crisis. Section Chief Lin Jinhong pointed out that Taiwan itself is not suitable for wheat cultivation. Wheat prefers a dry climate, cannot be too humid, is afraid of rain, and cannot be too dry and water-deficient. It is suitable for a temperate climate.

Taiwan has inherent environmental disadvantages in growing wheat. Wheat has long been used as a winter rotation crop and must be harvested before rice seedlings are planted in March. The time for growing wheat is very short, so the selection of varieties is based on the conditions of early maturity, heat resistance, and moisture resistance. These have limited the quality of wheat.

However, with the changing times, pasta has become another staple food for the Chinese people besides rice. According to a survey by the Council of Agriculture, the average Taiwanese person currently consumes about 48 kilograms of rice per year, but the demand for wheat is increasing. The amount of wheat consumed per person in Taiwan has increased from 20 kilograms per year in the 1970s to 36 kilograms currently, most of which is imported from 1.1 million metric tons of wheat each year.

Today, under the influence of extreme global climate, the production of wheat in many exporting countries has decreased significantly. In addition, rising oil prices have increased shipping costs, leading to rising international wheat prices, which has also affected domestic prices. Various factors have prompted the Taichung District Agricultural Improvement Station to contact the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center of Mexico (CIMMYT) to apply for the introduction of varieties, such as wheat materials with different characteristics such as milling, heat resistance, rust resistance and durum wheat, and to domesticate and select them on the site, hoping to develop new wheat cultivars that are adapted to the current climate, high-yield and high-quality, providing farmers with new choices.

In addition, the current cultivated variety of wheat in Taiwan is the "Taichung No. 2" bred by the Taichung District Agricultural Improvement Station in 1983. In recent years, with the efforts of many caring people and farmers, they have actively tried to plant it in various parts of Taiwan. Wheat cultivation can be seen in Taichung, Tainan, Miaoli, Chiayi and Hualien. It has also broken the limitation that domestic wheat is limited to the use of wine koji, and is used in a variety of products such as flour, noodles or steamed buns, providing the people of Taiwan with different new choices when purchasing related products.