Guru Champions Collaboration on Wheat Research

After a 37-year career, German native Hans-Joachim Braun retired from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in 2020. As the director of the Global Wheat Program and the CGIAR Research Program on Wheat, Braun's legacy will continue to impact all aspects of the wheat research world.

Despite his plans for a relaxing retirement, Braun hopes to continue supporting wheat research, whether through his involvement with CIMMYT or through long-standing relationships with national partners. He aims to raise awareness about population growth, which he considers as the "problem of all problems." During his long research history, he has noticed the tremendous changes in agriculture and technology that China has gone through in the past few decades. He recently spoke to Science and Technology Daily (S&T Daily) about these changes and how cooperation with China in wheat research is vital for global food security.

S&T Daily: What are the biggest changes you've noticed in China?

Hans-Joachim Braun: China has made tremendous progress in infrastructure — construction, transportation, IT, communication, investments in science and universities, and R&D. In many of these areas, such as biotechnology and IT, China nowadays is a global leader. I have visited more than 100 countries, but I don't know of any other where changes have happened so fast.

Q: Could you highlight some of the most impressive achievements of the collaboration between China and CIMMYT over the past decades?

A: China and CIMMYT have developed a close, intensive and productive cooperation in wheat and maize improvement. We have cooperated in breeding, agronomy and training. In 2014, Chinese economists evaluated the impact of the collaboration on wheat improvement and found that around 50 percent of the Chinese spring wheat varieties derived from crosses with CIMMYT lines and varieties selected from these crosses, had on average, a six percent higher yield than crosses using only Chinese lines.

CIMMYT lines are also an excellent source of disease resistance. An intensive cooperation developed in training and many Chinese scientists visited CIMMYT's Headquarters in Mexico and worked with CIMMYT's wheat and maize scientists. This helped develop close and fruitful collaboration.

CIMMYT also employed several Chinese scientists. Evidence of the collaboration's benefits includes the fact that around eight CIMMYT scientists, including myself, have received China's friendship award. A highlight was when CIMMYT hired Dr. He Zhonghu and based him in Beijing. Over the last 35 years, he coordinated cooperation between Chinese institutions and CIMMYT and became one of the most recognized wheat scientists in China and internationally. Having CIMMYT scientists based in China, for example [in] Henan University, was also a success. Thanks to four decades of cooperation, CIMMYT now works with many Chinese institutions and universities, and I am convinced that this collaboration produces significant results in wheat science, ultimately benefiting wheat and maize farmers.

Q: What do you think of the significance of international cooperation in the field of agricultural development and food security?

A: International cooperation is paramount for agricultural development and food security. For wheat, in particular, where research investments on a global scale are much smaller than in hybrid and genetically modified crops such as maize and soybeans, so germplasm exchange is essential. In wheat, the research community is still open, sharing wheat lines and new technologies, such as those in the molecular area. This allows even weaker programs, such as those in Africa, to benefit, and strong programs to make faster progress. No country will be able to come up with all the inventions alone.

Q: With climate change, geopolitical conflicts and supply chain disruptions, the food security issue is of global importance. What do you think the international community should do to ensure global food security? What is China's role in this?

A: It is paramount that free germplasm exchange continues. Wheat researchers share their research results and best lines, as no program is big enough to do all the research alone. Breeding today is a complex and expensive undertaking, requiring breeders, pathologists, physiologists, quality experts, geneticists, statisticians, biometricians, molecular experts, and in the future more and more experts in AI. Smaller countries and breeding programs simply can't afford to operate such programs and depend on organizations like CIMMYT. China has a very strong wheat improvement program in all these areas and shares its findings.

Q: What's the biggest challenge in wheat production and how should it be dealt with?

A: With climate change, yield stability is becoming the most important trait for many farmers, alongside raising yield potential. In many countries, lawmakers want to see a reduction in plant protectives, so varieties with better and more durable disease resistance are required. Water shortages, either from rain or irrigation, are becoming a major global issue and wheat varieties with better tolerance to heat and drought are needed. Wheat is a very water-efficient crop, but it still requires roughly 1,000 liters of water to produce 1 kg of wheat grain. Even with the most sophisticated irrigation systems, such as drip irrigation, it still requires around 400 liters of water to produce 1 kg of wheat grain. Wheat is a major staple and importantly helps to increase zinc and iron needed for a healthier diet. Increasing CO2 has some benefits for yield but has a negative effect on quality. Therefore, meeting the quality demands of millers, bakers and eventually consumers will become more and more challenging.

Q: What experience do you think China can offer to the world in the field of agricultural technology?

A: China has a very strong national wheat improvement program. China could make available its germplasm, its technologies developed in the molecular area, genomic selection, statistics, bioinformatics, and AI. China should play a very important role in training scientists from the developing world. China could also invest in building up research capacity of National Research Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa. China is such an important player in the global breeding scene, and there are so many areas it could contribute.

Source: Science and Technology Daily