Scientists Develop Climate Resilient Wheat for South Asia

Scientists from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) have developed high yielding, climate resilient wheat for the farmers in South Asia using innovative approaches to plant genotyping. The genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) approach offers significant benefits over traditional plant breeding. Plant selection through genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms (GS) is a variant of marker-assisted selection (MAS) that enables crop breeders to rank best parents accurately and cost-effectively.

The research project builds on the established heat tolerance and yield potential framework established by CIMMYT scientists. About 1,000 advanced wheat lines developed in Mexico by CIMMYT were planted at Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA) locations as well as in Faisalabad, Pakistan, and six environments in Ciudad Obregón, Mexico, to characterize them for heat tolerance.

For more information, visit http://blog.cimmyt.org/?p=11671&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter.