Novel genetic research and testing to boost drought, pest, and disease resilience in hop plantations.
The challenge
Disease is a major issue for UK hop production. The biggest challenge comes in the form of Verticillium wilt, a fungal disease that is currently untreatable and can lead to the death of entire hop gardens as it spreads unincumbered between plants.
Add to this the other wider botanical issues of pests and a changing climate with more extreme heat and drought periods that have put a strain on less resilient hop varieties, and it’s clear the UK hop industry faces a significant challenge. Such environmental challenges, together with overseas hop producers infiltrating the UK’s beer industry, creates an increased commercial competition for domestic producers.
A genetic approach to the problem
This project, fronted by leading UK hop breeding company Wye Hops, aims to tackle this issue through a focus on genetic characteristics and novel breeding methods that would look to improve resilience to the effects of climate change, boosting food security.
Wye Hops are joined in this project by researchers at the University of Kent, alongside the British Hop Association, the National Institute of Agricultural Botany, the Hop Plant Company, and LGC genomics. Together they will build insights into plant resilience properties ahead of any new breeding opportunities.
Project scope
The project will run for five years from February 2024 to January 2029, giving it the opportunity to complete a number of growing seasons with the sample crops and to validate the results of each season.
Under the project, plants from across the Wye Hops breeding programme will be grown and cuttings taken for DNA analysis using state-of-the-art technology. Here genetic information will be exploited to identify wilt resistance, wider disease resistance, and resilience against drought and other climate-related conditions in existing and new hop varieties.
Following this, further farm trials will be undertaken on varieties that display the right characteristics, alongside new varieties created and grown using existing plants that hold some of the relevant genetic components that could see greater resilience and resistance. This breeding programme will then help shape how any early-stage successes are taken forward to the hop industry for their potential use, as well as studies on their aroma and taste.
Adaptability will be key to the work, says Dr Klara Hajdu, Hop Breeder at Wye Hops:
“Whereas this work has already been underway in major crops like wheat and barley, hops have not been in the focus of genetic research up until recently. There needs to be real flexibility in modern hop breeding to be able to cope more effectively as environmental conditions change and diseases mutate. A key part of this project will therefore help ensure we have the tools to breed for new challenges as they come along.“
“The funding really enabled us to move onto this next crucial stage, bringing existing data into a practical breeding application. It gave us the much-needed backing to introduce the technology we need across the project, and we’re keen to see where this work can take the concept.”
What’s next?
The fundamental aim of the project is to create effective processes and analysis techniques for identifying and testing hop varieties for their ability to overcome disease and climate challenges. Proving the potential of this concept in overcoming or reducing the impact of Verticillium wilt could be vital in the fight against such a significant challenge for the industry.
Showcasing a successful opportunity here is also key to unlocking further potential for longer-term breeding and testing programmes in the hop industry that will encompass a greater number of hop varieties and tackle wider pest and disease threats.
Underpinning all of this work is the ambition to reintroduce new research to an engaged and reinvigorated UK industry, adds Klara:
“There has been very little recent hop research in the UK, and we want to see this get back on its feet – which can happen through our genetic assisted breeding initiatives. The UK hop industry has been very engaged with our plans and interested in the results we achieve, that they can then take forward for their own growing and variety plans. This will be a big step forward for re-establishing the UK as a major player in the international hop market.”
