Water productive wheat with appropriate quality profiles

Abstract

This program addresses the rainfed I drought prone spring wheat areas in LDC. Rainfed areas - spring and winter combined - represent around 50% of all wheat grown in LDC. A clear delineation between rainfed I drought prone areas and areas receiving high rainfall in some years is not possible. Therefore, the breeding efforts targeted at ME2 (high rainfall) and rainfed/drought areas (ME4) were combined. ME2 material was selected and integrated with the mainstream rainfed breeding materials targeted for ME4. This change also assures that this material will also perform well under supplementary irrigation - an irrigation system becoming increasingly common in many LDC. Development of water productive germplasm - drought tolerant and input (water) responsive - is furthermore addressed by crossing, selection and testing of materials in Obregon under managed stress regimes. Water-use efficient (WUE) materials are developed by yield testing under both optimal and sub-optimal moisture. Those performing well in both are promoted and made available to IAP breeders, INIFAP and others. This year, the top performing bread wheat lines in on-farm trials in Sonora and in trials conducted by INIFAP in Sonora were lines developed by the rainfed program. These materials have enhanced WUE and are better able to cope with the suboptimal conditions found on-farm. The strategy employed by CIMMYT to breed for drought-prone areas is described by Trethowan and Reynolds: Drought resistance: genetic approaches for improving productivity under stress; copy attached. The breeding work is done in close collaboration with other disciplines - Physiology, Pathology - Cereal Rusts, Foliar diseases, FHS, Root and Crown Rots and Nematodes - and Quality. Results from those disciplines are reported there.