We are continuing to look for non-commercial cereal varieties. However, time is running out as many farmers have stopped growing these traditional varieties. If you can answer yes to any of the following questions, please contact us!
Do you know where cereals have been grown from saved seed?
Do you know of any straw-thatched houses or outhouses?
Do you have any old mattresses or other items that have been stuffed with straw?
On-farm conservation of Rye
why rye?
One of the aims of the Irish Cereal Varieties project is to promote the on-farm growth and conservation of old varieties and landraces of Irish cereals. To this end, Rye (Secale cereale) was chosen as a candidate crop for conservation on the farms of Inis Meain, one of the Aran Islands, off the west coast of Ireland.
Rye and, to a lesser extent, black or bristle oat have been traditionally grown in the Aran Islands for generations. Rye is still grown as a crop in the Aran Islands, although its traditional use for fodder and thatch is declining. Rye straw has been mainly used for traditional straw-based thatch, although this is largely restricted to sheds and outbuildings now and occurs mainly on Inis Meain. This crop is grown in small fields where dry stone walls offer protection from wind and, owing to the small field sizes, it is still harvested by hand, either by directly pulling up the plants or by cutting with a sickle. A proportion of any seed set is saved for sowing the following year. In some cases, seed has been grown and produced this way for many years. Thus, Aran rye may represent a landrace that differs from commercially available varieties, and is likely to represent an important genetic resource.
In addition, the traditional, low-intensity farming practises on Inis Meain have resulted in rye crops
which contain several weeds of arable fields which have nearly been exterminated from the rest of
Ireland and much of western Europe because of modern farming practices. For example, Darnel (Lolium
temulentum) has previously been reported from every Irish county, but is now restricted to Inis Meain,
while Bristle Oat (Avena strigosa) also occurs as a weed in the Rye fields and has suffered a severe
decline in distribution this century.
[back to top]
Promoting on-farm conservation of Rye
The promotion of on-farm conservation of Rye is important for a number of reasons. Firstly, the traditional cultivation methods are of conservation value as they represent a unique heritage of human agriculture in Ireland. Secondly, the Rye fields represent a rare source of a declining crop (Rye) and two associated weeds, Darnel and Bristle Oat. Lastly, there is the fact that each of these three species represents an important genetic resource. Rye is an important crop in colder climates, Bristle Oat is an important crop relative while Darnel is related to the Ryegrasses which are major herbage crops. As all three species are annuals and fields are resown with local seed each year, there is the strong chance genotypes will be selected for that show greater adaptation to local conditions. This genetic variation may be valuable to plant breeders as it may help to diversify crops being grown in western parts of Ireland.
In 1997, the National Heritage Council funded Rye growing on Inis Meain. This was organised through the
island co-operative (Comharchumann Inis Meain Teo) and aimed to encourage continued production of Rye on
Inis Meain using traditional cultivation methods, while also raising awareness of the value of these
traditional methods. Traditionally produced Rye seed on Inis Meain was sourced for growing out. A small
number of farmers were chosen and compensated for growing a Rye crop (up to a quarter of an acre each)
on their farms. The Irish Threatened Plant genebank, housed at Trinity College Botanic Gardens, agreed
to store a sample of any seed set as a means of conserving the genetic diversity of this crop and also
as a source of traditional Inis Meain Rye for any farmer interested in growing this variety.
[back to top]