On October 28–29, the project “Fimbulwinter wheat – creating a team with a plan to adapt winter wheat for difficult winters” was held at the Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry (LAMMC). The project events are funded by the Nordic Research Council (NKJ). The hybrid workshop “Adapting winter wheat for harsh winters” took place on October 28, and the project partners’ meeting followed on October 29. Both events brought together researchers and plant breeders from the Nordic, Baltic, and Central European regions to discuss challenges and strategies for improving winter wheat resilience in increasingly difficult winters.
Participants represented a wide range of institutions and breeding companies, including the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU), Lund University (LU, Sweden), Natural Resources Institute Finland (LUKE), Agricultural University of Iceland (LBHI), Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK, Germany), University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU, Austria), Centre of Estonian Rural Research and Knowledge (METK), and University of Helsinki (UH, Finland). Plant breeding companies ‘Graminor’ (Norway), ‘Boreal Plant Breeding’ (Finland), and ‘Lantmännen’ (Sweden) also participated.
In addition to those attending in person, more than 50 researchers joined online actively contributing to discussions by sharing their experiences on winter hardiness, cold adaptation, and breeding strategies for unstable winters. Their input enriched the workshop and meeting with diverse international perspectives.
As winters in the Nordic and Baltic regions become increasingly unpredictable with frequent thawing, reduced snow cover, and rising disease pressure, developing winter wheat varieties that can withstand these conditions has become a critical challenge for both researchers and breeders. The Fimbulwinter Wheat workshop and partners’ meeting at LAMMC played a key role in addressing this challenge by bringing together leading experts to share the latest research, discuss breeding strategies, and exchange practical experiences from different countries. The event fostered stronger collaboration among Nordic and Baltic institutions, creating a platform for joint research initiatives and coordinated approaches to enhance winter wheat resilience.
