Chinese Academy of Sciences Partners with Bayer to Improve Wheat Yields

A team of researchers from Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences (SIBS) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Bayer will work together to improve wheat yields. In the collaboration, SIBS researchers will work closely with Bayer on developing and validating a wheat canopy photosynthesis model.

Jeroen Van Rie, crop efficiency trait research expert and Bayer's lead scientist on the project, says, "The world population is growing, and arable land is limited. The crops of the future will have to deliver top performance, especially in wheat, which accounts for about 20% of the world's food energy intake today." He added that the joint research work will help identify ways of improving photosynthesis and yield.

Prof. Zhu Xinguang, principal investigator of the Plant Systems Biology group at Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, adds that improving photosynthesis is one of the most promising approaches to dramatically improve crop productivity. "In this new grant, we will develop advanced wheat canopy photosynthesis models to help guide future wheat breeding," he added.

For more about this collaboration, read the article at the Chinese Academy of Sciences Newsroom.