An Australian research team has developed a new technology that more accurately predicts plant breeding outcomes thus reducing the time taken to get seeds from the lab to the field.
 
The implications of this research are vast as it could aid the global food supply for future generations.  It is a timely development in light of current predictions of critical food shortages which even now are already evident in some countries.

Dr Howard Eagles of the Molecular Plant Breeding Cooperative Research Centre (MPBCRC) and his group aimed at maximising rates of improvement of wheat strains to enhance the marketability of Australian produce. The time to test a variety of wheat can take up to 15 years from the initial crossing to the final release to farmers (growing, testing and trialling).
 
The project, called Cross Predictor, has led to a 2.5 per cent reduction in the cost of wheat breeding, earlier access to better strains of wheat and higher commercial quality with increased yield and improved disease resistance.

This technology uses maths concepts to identify genetic strengths and weaknesses enabling breeders to use higher selection intensities. Its development involved parties from four states in Australia to Mexico.