Development and adoption of Kernza-A perennial grain crop for sustainable agriculture

Sammanfattning

Kernza is the tradename of grain harvested from advanced breeding lines of intermediate wheatgrass, a perennial grass being domesticated to serve as a perennial grain crop. Here, we present the need and justification for developing perennial grains as a contributing solution to agricultural challenges; we review the foundational science behind Kernza's development, outline the transdisciplinary efforts to scale and commercialize it, and address the unique challenges to its wider adoption and integration into the food system. Decades of plant breeding and development of genetic resources have resulted in the domestication of Kernza, which has since been studied for its food science, agronomic, and ecological properties at a research scale. Research and development have expanded to engage critical food system actors including farmers, processors, end-users, and consumers, and these collaborations have resulted in coordinated networks ranging in scale from local communities to an international consortium to improve the social, environmental, and economic impacts of Kernza. Cross-sector partnerships continue to develop and distribute knowledge and resources that support the adoption of Kernza by growers and end users. Examples of resources include grower business cooperatives, federal incentive programs, marketing toolkits, and educational materials for learners spanning generations. We outline key challenges to expedited progress, including the inherent time requirements to breed a crop for multi-year grain production, and quantify certain environmental benefits like carbon sequestration. A coordinated, transdisciplinary, values-based approach to overcoming these challenges is described and, if implemented, can accelerate the research and commercialization at a global scale.

Nyckelord

agronomy; community engaged research; food science; interdisciplinary partnerships; on-farm research; plant breeding; sustainable agriculture; systems thinking

Publicerad i

Plants, People, Planet
2026
Utgivare: WILEY

SLU författare

• Picasso, Valentin

  • Institutionen för växtproduktionsekologi, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

UKÄ forskningsämne

Miljö- och naturvårdsvetenskap
Jordbruksvetenskap

Publikationens identifierare

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.70164

Permanent länk till denna sida (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/146070