Triticale is a man-made crop produced by the hybridization of wheat and rye which combines excellent disease resistance and robustness with low input needs and high productivity. Due to its high energy yield it has been developed as an industrial feed crop and in N. Europe it has been recognized as a superior bioethanol feedstock, but to date has not been exploited significantly in S. Europe.

In the project TRITOL, in collaboration with the seed company Agrovegetal SL, Agrasys is developing improved triticale varieties for bioethanol production, offering higher yields from reduced inputs, lower production costs than conventional cereals and optimized bioethanol yield.

The project is based on new high-yielding triticale lines developed by CIMMYT to which Agrovegetal has exclusive access as well as germplasm from other sources. The project includes the investigation of a variety of seed quality parameters to define those traits associated with bioethanol yield. High-throughput screening methods based on NIR (near infra-red reflectance specroscopy) are being developed for major traits, as selection tools for improved alcohol production.