Cicero - Developing chickpea as a novel source of domestic UK protein

西塞罗 - 将鹰嘴豆开发为英国国内蛋白质的新来源

• 批准号: 10052996
• 金额: $ 51.85万
• 依托单位: NATIONAL INST OF AGRICULTURAL BOTANY
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Collaborative R&D
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=10052996
• 关键词: Cicero; Developing; chickpea; novel; source

The NFU has set the bold target of UK agriculture becoming a net-zero industry by 2040\. For the arable sector, this will necessitate changes both to the crops which are grown and the approaches taken to growing them. Legume crops will be central to this: they fix atmospheric nitrogen, thus reducing the high greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production and application of nitrogen fertiliser. They can also service growing consumer demand for plant-based protein, making them uniquely placed to deliver protein nutritional security. Current domestic legume production is dominated by pea and field (faba) bean, but these are not necessarily optimised for human consumption, and there is limited availability of alternatives. The 'Cicero' project will explore one such alternative, chickpea (_Cicer arietinum_), widely used in food manufacturing but currently largely imported from overseas.Chickpea is a key ingredient in familiar Middle Eastern and South Asian foods and has a growing importance as a vegan egg alternative. Whilst there has been some recent domestic chickpea production, this has been on a small-scale, hampered by relatively poorly-adapted overseas varieties and a lack of experience from growers and advisors about how best to grow the crop. Current domestic production represents a tiny fraction of the volume required by the UK food sector, which is dominated by imports from Canada, India and Turkey.Our consortium brings together experts in plant breeding, seed marketing, genetics and agronomy with growers and food processors, representing key parts of the chickpea supply chain. At the heart of 'Cicero' will be an agronomy and variety screening programme to identify how to maximise performance from the best available chickpea varieties for UK growers and end-users. We will also evaluate diverse material carrying novel agronomic characteristics such as cold tolerance, high seedling vigour and Ascochyta blight (disease) resistance, and develop a suite of new variants targeting key adaptation genes.We aim to start transferring this novel variation into the best varieties through an innovative technology-led chickpea breeding programme. This will target earlier spring planting and improved seedling establishment, making the crop more competitive against weeds to give reliable and increased yield. We will integrate these agronomic improvements with key nutritional and functionality targets identified by the food sector. Together this represents a unique opportunity to tailor this valuable nitrogen-fixing break crop to fit both with established UK arable rotations and the technical requirements of food manufacturers.

NFU设定了一个大胆的目标：到2040年，英国农业将成为一个净零排放的行业。对于耕地部门，这将需要改变所种植的作物和种植它们的方法。豆类作物将是其中的核心：它们固定大气中的氮，从而减少与氮肥生产和施用相关的高温室气体排放。它们还可以满足消费者对植物性蛋白质日益增长的需求，使它们在提供蛋白质营养安全方面处于独特地位。目前国内豆科作物生产以豌豆和蚕豆（蚕豆）为主，但这些作物并不一定适合人类消费，而且替代品的可用性有限。“西塞罗”项目将探索一种这样的替代品——鹰嘴豆，鹰嘴豆广泛用于食品制造，但目前主要从海外进口。鹰嘴豆是我们熟悉的中东和南亚食品中的一种关键成分，作为素食鸡蛋的替代品，它的重要性也越来越大。虽然最近有一些鹰嘴豆的国内生产，但由于适应能力相对较差的海外品种，以及种植者和顾问缺乏关于如何最好地种植这种作物的经验，这种生产一直是小规模的。目前的国内产量只占英国食品行业所需产量的一小部分，英国食品行业主要从加拿大、印度和土耳其进口。我们的联盟汇集了植物育种、种子营销、遗传学和农学方面的专家，以及种植者和食品加工商，代表了鹰嘴豆供应链的关键部分。“Cicero”项目的核心将是一个农艺和品种筛选项目，以确定如何为英国种植者和最终用户最大限度地提高最佳鹰嘴豆品种的性能。我们还将评估具有耐寒性、高幼苗活力和抗枯萎病等新农艺特性的不同材料，并开发一套针对关键适应基因的新变体。我们的目标是通过一项以创新技术为主导的鹰嘴豆育种计划，开始将这种新变异转化为最佳品种。这将以早春播种和改良育苗为目标，使作物对杂草更具竞争力，从而可靠地提高产量。我们将把这些农艺改进与粮食部门确定的关键营养和功能目标结合起来。总之，这代表了一个独特的机会来定制这种有价值的固氮断裂作物，以适应既建立的英国耕地轮作和食品制造商的技术要求。