International Effort to Develop Climate-Resilient Wheat

Researchers from Kansas State University (K-State) will lead a new effort to develop wheat varieties that are resilient to the warming effects of climate change. Led by K-State professor Jesse Poland, the project's collaborators include the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Cornell University, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The initial focus of the project will be on wheat in South Asia, which produces 20 percent of the world's wheat crop. The team will use genomic selection to boost genetic gains in wheat targeted to future warmer climates with a goal to develop heat-tolerant, high-yielding, and farmer-accepted varieties for South Asia. The project builds on research already done at CIMMYT, and according to Poland, the team will incorporate genomic selection into CIMMYT's bread wheat breeding pipeline, with the specific target of increasing yield potential under extreme heat.

For more about this project, read the news release at: http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/news/story/climate_resilient103013.aspx.