Triticale
In less than 100 years, triticale (xTriticosecale Wittmack) has developed from a botanical curiosity to a commercially viable cereal. The area under cultivation in Germany was 405,000 ha in 2006. Triticale is widely used as an inexpensive, environmentally friendly, protein-rich cereal feed in pig and poultry fattening. The main areas of cultivation are therefore also in the regions of Germany with high livestock numbers (Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Bavaria, Brandenburg). In animal production, triticale can also be used as fresh green fodder or as whole-plant silage. Triticale is also suitable for human consumption; it can be used to make tasty wholemeal products, flakes and bakery products. As a renewable resource, triticale can be used for ethanol production. The high biomass production makes triticale an interesting energy crop for thermal use in biogas plants. The new cereal has been cultivated at the LSA since 1977. The LSA is one of the few institutions in Germany intensively involved in breeding research on triticale. In addition to breeding methods, the work focuses on improving resistance to abiotic and biotic stresses.