Improving drought tolerance in wheat for Asia
This Research Initiative aims to assemble and integrate into breeding programmes genetic diversity for water-use efficiency (WUE) and heat tolerance from key sets of genetic resources. These materials will be shared with all partners for the analysis of trait and QTL-by-environment interaction to assess the genetic gains associated with each trait in each country's target environment. QTLs will be combined in national breeding programmes using marker-assisted recurrent selection (MARS) and backcrossing. In the medium term, this RI will develop wheat germplasm adapted to Chinese and Indian environments, and with greatly enhanced water-use efficiency and heat tolerance.
Overall objective
The overall objective of this project is to develop wheat germplasm adapted to Chinese and Indian production environments with greatly enhanced water-use-efficiency. The establishment of effective phenotyping protocols and more efficient breeding schemes will be essential to achieving these outcomes.
For more information, including articles written in everyday language on the Wheat RI, visit the Wheat InfoCentre.
Facts and figures
- Learn more about wheat (IBP website)
Resources and networks for researchers
- Open-access book chapter in e-book format: How to phenotype wheat for drought
- Join the wheat community of practice (IBP website)
- Wheat information and genomics(IBP website)
- Through our Product Catalogue, browse what we offer for wheat