Description:
Heat stress is a significant constraint to wheat yield potential and the frequency of occurrence and intensity is projected to increase with climate variability. Australian grain growers mitigate the impacts of heat stress by optimising sowing time when possible, input use and variety choice to avoid both frost and heat stress induced loss of yield. Improved heat tolerance of wheat varieties would give grain growers more flexibility while maintaining yield potential in a warmer climate.
Wheat lines will be enriched for heat tolerance at grain filling based on genomic predictions and field-based phenotypes in at least five key environments and delivered to wheat breeders with genomic information for selection.
The strategy will build upon semi-dwarf heat tolerant germplasm which is already competitive for yield with current cultivars and has a phenology range consistent with that required across the Australian wheat belt.
Intensive validation of heat responses at 5 key national locations and extensive concurrent testing at 40 sites in lnterGrain's national trial network will assign value to the new sources of heat tolerance.
These new lines will be enriched for heat tolerance at grain filling and delivered to wheat breeders with genomic information to aid selection and incorporation of tolerance into new varieties.
Funding source:
GRDC
Project code:
UOS2201-001RTX (CT35378)