‘Goldmine’ collection of wheat from 100 years ago may help feed the world, scientists say

Harvesting in France, circa 1900. Some old varieties of wheat still extant in the early 20th century have many traits useful on a heating planet. Photograph: Roger Viollet/Getty Images

A hundred years ago, the plant scientist Arthur Watkins launched a remarkable project. He began collecting samples of wheat from all over the globe, nagging consuls and business agents across the British empire and beyond to supply him with grain from local markets.

His persistence was exceptional and, a century later, it is about to reap dramatic results. A UK-Chinese collaboration has sequenced the DNA of all the 827 kinds of wheat, assembled by Watkins, that have been nurtured at the John Innes Centre near Norwich for most of the past century.