Perennials as Future Grain Crops: Opportunities and Challenges

Perennial grain crops could make a valuable addition to sustainable agriculture, potentially even as an alternative to their annual counterparts. The ability of perennials to grow year after year significantly reduces the number of agricultural inputs required, in terms of both planting and weed control, while reduced tillage improves soil health and on-farm biodiversity. Presently, perennial grain crops are not grown at large scale, mainly due to their early stages of domestication and current low yields. Narrowing the yield gap between perennial and annual grain crops will depend on characterizing differences in their life cycles, resource allocation, and reproductive strategies and understanding the trade-offs between annualism, perennialism, and yield. The genetic and biochemical pathways controlling plant growth, physiology, and senescence should be analyzed in perennial crop plants. This information could then be used to facilitate tailored genetic improvement of selected perennial grain crops to improve agronomic traits and enhance yield, while maintaining the benefits associated with perennialism.

Automated summary

Perennial grain crops have the potential to be a valuable addition to sustainable agriculture as they require fewer inputs and improve soil health compared to annual crops. However, their low yields and early stages of domestication have hindered large-scale cultivation. To narrow the yield gap with annual crops, it is necessary to study the differences in life cycles, resource allocation, and reproductive strategies, as well as analyze the genetic and biochemical pathways controlling plant growth. This information can be used for tailored genetic improvement of perennial crops to enhance yield while maintaining the benefits of perennialism.