PerennialTraits: Showcasing de novo domestication of perennial grain crops for profitable, resilient and sustainable agriculture

Extreme climate conditions and the increasing demand for food, feed and energy are calling for more resilient and productive food production systems than ever. Recently there is emerging interest in perennial grain crops due to their ability to produce grains for human consumption more than one season. Despite the rigorous efforts, however, the adoption of these emerging crops has been incremental owing to three-fold challenges: (1) more efficient breeding program to select perennial candidates using early traits, (2) finding alternative economic opportunities like using shoot biomass for forage and biorefining, and (3) maintaining deep roots, soil microbes, and soil health for climate resilience. This project rethinks breeding for profit (grain and biomass), resilience (deep roots), and sustainability (soil health) simultaneously, a novel approach to address agriculture's complex challenges.