Cambridge-based scientists claim to have developed a new type of 'superwheat' which could boost productivity by 30 per cent.
Scientists at The National Institute of Agricultural Botany in UK have combined an ancient ancestor of wheat with a modern variety to produce a new strain.
In early trials, the resulting crop seemed bigger and stronger than the current modern wheat varieties, 'BBC News' reported.
Researchers said it will take at least five years of tests and regulatory approval before the wheat is harvested by farmers.
According to the report, one in five of all the calories consumed round the world come from wheat.
However, despite steady improvement in the late 20th century, the last 15 years have seen little growth in the average wheat harvest from each acre in Britain.
Now scientists in the UK think they may have found the answer to increasing productivity again.
Around 10,000 years ago wheat evolved from goat grass and other primitive grains, the report said.
Scientists used cross-pollination and seed embryo transfer technology to transfer some of the resilience of the ancient ancestor of wheat into modern British varieties.
The process required no genetic modification of the crops.
