Wheat and wheat breeding in China

Abstract

The People's Republic of China, which has the world's largest population (1990 estimate of 1.1 billion), is also the world's largest wheat producer with the crop being grown in 29 of its 30 provinces. As expounded upon in this report, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) has divided the country's wheat areas (totaling nearly 29 million hectares and producing more than 85 million tons) into 10 major agroecological zones, based on wheat type, temperature, light, moisture, and growing season. Until recently, limited information was available to the rest of the world regarding the above mentioned production zones, as well as varietal releases, types of wheat, the disease spectrum, abiotic stresses, and methodologies employed in germplasm improvement. This report by He Zhonghu (CIMMYT postdoctoral fellow) and Chen Tianyou (CIMMYT visiting scientist) presents the current situation on wheat and wheat breeding in their country.