0:00:28 > 0:00:29Wheat.
0:00:29 > 0:00:33It's one of our oldest and most basic food sources.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38Entire civilisations were built on the stuff.
0:00:43 > 0:00:46It was created by a happy accident of nature,
0:00:46 > 0:00:4710,000 years ago,
0:00:47 > 0:00:50where three wild grasses combined
0:00:50 > 0:00:53to produce this vital food source.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56It's gone on to feed the world.
0:00:58 > 0:01:02Even today, wheat provides 20% of the calories consumed
0:01:02 > 0:01:04by humans worldwide.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07Its most common reincarnation - the humble loaf.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12No wonder it's known as the staff of life.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15And it's easy to take for granted,
0:01:15 > 0:01:17but in 50 years,
0:01:17 > 0:01:20this could be a luxury that few of us can afford.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26Rising population and a changing climate
0:01:26 > 0:01:28are putting pressure on the way we farm.
0:01:28 > 0:01:32We simply need to be able to produce more food,
0:01:32 > 0:01:34and we're turning to science for the answers.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40This is where you actually bring the seeds to work on, is it?
0:01:40 > 0:01:42Yeah. So, he's actually opening up the seed
0:01:42 > 0:01:46with some fine forceps and a scalpel,
0:01:46 > 0:01:47and taking the embryo,
0:01:47 > 0:01:51and we put that on a plate of nutrients.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56Here at the National Institute of Agricultural Botany,
0:01:56 > 0:01:59they're looking at ways to tackle the problems of the future.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04We need to be doing things differently
0:02:04 > 0:02:06if we're going to increase yields enough
0:02:06 > 0:02:08to feed the world in the future.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11So, we need to be looking at sources of variation
0:02:11 > 0:02:13that conventional breeding just can't reach.
0:02:13 > 0:02:17We're bridging the gap between some of the basic science,
0:02:17 > 0:02:18such as this,
0:02:18 > 0:02:21and the commercial breeders who are producing
0:02:21 > 0:02:23the varieties that go out on farm.
0:02:26 > 0:02:29We've reached a stage now where yields have
0:02:29 > 0:02:30plateaued a bit on farm,
0:02:30 > 0:02:33and it's quite clear that with the challenges of increasing
0:02:33 > 0:02:35global population,
0:02:35 > 0:02:39key pesticides are being taken out of use,
0:02:39 > 0:02:42and energy - energy costs an awful lot - that we're going to
0:02:42 > 0:02:45have to produce more from less in the future.
0:02:45 > 0:02:47It's estimated that we'll need to produce more wheat
0:02:47 > 0:02:51in the next 50 years than we've produced in the previous 10,000.
0:02:51 > 0:02:53So, clearly, we need step changes.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56We need to almost redesign the wheat plant.
0:02:56 > 0:03:00But now Countryfile can exclusively reveal a major breakthrough.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03Dr Howell's team have redesigned the wheat plant
0:03:03 > 0:03:06by going back to its roots.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09We're trying to actually copy that lucky chance
0:03:09 > 0:03:11that happened 10,000 years ago.
0:03:11 > 0:03:15So, we're taking a large collection of these goatgrasses
0:03:15 > 0:03:17and we're crossing them with -
0:03:17 > 0:03:21this is modern pasta wheat - to produce this synthetic wheat.
0:03:21 > 0:03:25- Is this a GM technology?- No, no. This is conventional breeding.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28We're making the same crosses that normal breeders would make,
0:03:28 > 0:03:32only we're just using much wilder species.
0:03:32 > 0:03:37In simple terms, they're crossing an ancient but hardy wild grass
0:03:37 > 0:03:38with a domestic wheat plant.
0:03:38 > 0:03:40This makes synthetic wheat.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43This synthetic wheat then provides the building block
0:03:43 > 0:03:47for breeding new, improved wheat varieties.
0:03:47 > 0:03:49Left to itself, this cross would die,
0:03:49 > 0:03:53so they're quite literally giving nature a helping hand.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57So, you're following that natural, historic journey of wheat but,
0:03:57 > 0:03:59if you like, trying to improve it,
0:03:59 > 0:04:02so you get some of the qualities of this goatgrass into wheat today.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05Absolutely, yeah. So, we think that
0:04:05 > 0:04:08there are some untapped variations for things
0:04:08 > 0:04:13like drought tolerance, insect resistance, disease resistance.
0:04:13 > 0:04:14And, we're beginning to think now,
0:04:14 > 0:04:16some excellent yield improvements, as well.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20The results have been extraordinary -
0:04:20 > 0:04:22far exceeding their expectations.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26We were expecting to see the diversity increased,
0:04:26 > 0:04:29we were expecting to see disease resistance,
0:04:29 > 0:04:32but what we weren't expecting was so much of a yield increase.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36In tests last year, the best of these actually out-yielded
0:04:36 > 0:04:39the cultivated parent by more than 30%.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43Wow. I mean, how surprised were you by that?
0:04:43 > 0:04:45I double-checked the results - let's just say that.