German beer researchers are sprouting new varieties of disease- and disaster-resistant hops that they hope can survive climate-related challenges like rising temperatures and drought.
The Associated Press reported that experts at the Society of Hop Research north of Munich are growing 7,000 seedlings — a mix of new varieties developed through research — in a plant nursery nicknamed "our kindergarten." If the baby hops survive and thrive, the vines will move to trellises in trial fields in Bavaria.
These plants will be used during every stage of their development to educate people in university and vocational school classrooms and at breweries and farms across the country.
"The new varieties give our farmers the chance to have income, to have a living for the next generation," Walter König, the society's managing director, told AP. "It gives our brewers the varieties that they need now and in the future."
Rising global temperatures are already affecting Germany's beer industry, the publication noted, explaining that farmers' yields are rapidly shrinking and brewers are being forced to change their recipes to achieve historic tastes.
The country's beer industry was already in decline over recent decades, dropping from the world's second-largest beer producer in the 1970s to the fifth today. This downward trend threatens the cultural heritage of a country that boasts what could be the oldest continuous brewing culture in the world.
Meanwhile, beer hops aren't the only crop facing extreme weather and other challenges associated with an overheating planet. For instance, warming temperatures are lowering olive tree yields, causing olive oil prices to soar. In Spain, this has caused many consumers to substitute this beloved kitchen staple with sunflower oil.
Researchers are scrambling to come up with more climate-resilient crops to help avert these kinds of catastrophes in the future. For one, scientists are looking to develop "super potatoes" that are more resistant to diseases and weather challenges. Plus, scientists at Texas A&M have produced drought-proof melons, and researchers at the University of Maryland have developed heat-tolerant apples.
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