Future-proofing Irish Pastures

Perennial ryegrass and white clover make up the foundation of pasture-based agriculture for grazing livestock.

Perennial ryegrass and white clover varieties used by farmers are currently bred to be high yielding, but their growth will be impacted under extreme weather conditions of the future.

Using natural plant genetic diversity from ecotypes across Europe, ResilientCrop will identify genes and molecular mechanisms which enable plants to survive and grow under drought and high temperature conditions.

Our work will inform breeding strategies aimed at generating climate resilient varieties that will improve Irish agriculture's resilience and ensure long-term food security and sustainability.

What is perennial ryegrass?

Perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) is the predominant pasture grass species, covering over 80% of Ireland’s agricultural land. 

Fields are planted with commercial varieties bred to produce high amounts of forage, but they rely on near-perfect conditions to do so, with very little resilience to adverse events such as drought. Therefore, to breed climate-resilient varieties, ResilientCrop will take advantage of the reference  genome sequence of L. perenne and white clover (Trifolium repens) to isolate specific genes and proteins associated with abiotic stress responses.

What is White Clover?

White clover (Trifolium repens) is a legume crop belonging to the bean and pea (Fabaceae)  family and is often grown alongside perennial ryegrass in Irish farmlands.

Clover plants can host beneficial bacteria that convert nitrogen gas into nitrogen forms that can be taken up by plants. This ability to fix nitrogen can reduce the need for artificial nitrogen fertiliser use, thus reducing the accumulation of   nitrous oxide, a gas with strong greenhouse and ozone-depleting properties.