A high grain yield is undoubtedly a desirable trait in cereal crops. Floret fertility is a key factor that determines the number of grains per inflorescence of cereals such as bread, wheat or barley. Nonetheless, until recently, little was known about its genetic basis. While investigating floret fertility, a group of researchers from Japan, Germany and Israel have now discovered the locus Grain Number Increase 1 (GNI1), an important contributor to floret fertility.