Agronomic Advancement in Tillage, Crop Rotation, Soil Health and Genetic Gain in Durum Wheat Cultivation: a 17-year Canadian Story

Abstract

The global demands for various grains including durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) are expected to increase substantially in the coming years due to ever-growing human population"s needs for food, feed and fuel. Thus, providing consistent or increased durum grain to the world market is one of the priorities for policy-makers, researchers, and farmers. What are the major achievements in agronomic advancement for durum wheat cultivation in recent decades? How might the current cropping systems be improved to increase crop yield and quality and improve resource use efficiencies while minimizing input costs and decreasing negative impact on the environment? Canada is one of the major durum wheat producers in the world, as Canada contributes about 50% to global trade of durum grain. Canada"s research achievements in durum wheat might serve as a guide for advancing the cultivation of the crop in other regions/countries on the planet. This review summarizes the major Canadian research findings in the aspects of durum wheat agronomics during the period 2001 to 2017 years. It highlights the main advancements in seeding and tillage, crop rotation and diversification, and use of pulse-induced microbiomes to improve soil health and feedback mechanism. The genetic gain and breeding for resistance against abiotic and biotic stresses are discussed. Finally, we identified main constraints and suggested some near-term research priorities. The research findings highlighted in this review will be of use for other areas on the planet to increase durum wheat productivity, improve soil fertility and health, and enhance long-term sustainability.

Phenol metabolism of two cultivars of durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) as affected by ozone and flooding stress

“…The global demands for various grains, including durum wheat, are expected to increase substantially in the coming years, due to the ever‐growing human population's needs for food, feed and fuel. Thus, providing consistent or increased durum grain to the world market is one of the priorities for policymakers, researchers and farmers (Li et al, ). Abiotic stresses are one of the major constraints to crop production and food security worldwide and the significant role that O 3 is expected to play in deteriorating the global crop production makes O 3 a hidden threat to global food security (Ashmore, ; Tai, Val Martin, & Heald, ).…”

“…Flooding with freshwater, although less harmful than waterlogging with saltwater, poses a multitude of constraints on growth, survival and reproduction of many plants (Armstrong, Brändle, & Jackson, ; Jackson & Colmer, ), since under hypoxic conditions due to flooding, ATP production and energy transformation through oxidative phosphorylation are impaired (Bailey‐Serres, Lee, & Brinton, ). Similarly to O 3 , flooding significantly reduces the growth and yield of several crops (Komatsu, Hiraga, & Yanagawa, ; Li et al, ).…”

“…(“durum wheat”) is a key member of the genus Triticum ; its gluten content is relatively high, so it is suitable for macaroni, solid vermicelli and couscous (Šramková, Gregová, & Šturdík, ). Durum wheat is mainly cropped in the Mediterranean basin, the Northern Plains between United States of America and Canada, and within the desert areas of southwest of United States and Northern Mexico, but is also widely cultivated in North Africa, Turkey, Syria and other Asian countries (Kadkol & Sissons, ; Li et al, ). In most of these areas, durum wheat have commonly to cope with major climatic constraints, mainly elevated temperatures, drought and high O 3 levels, but also flooding (this is expected to increase in the near future).…”

Breeding and adoption of biofortified crops and their nutritional impact on human health

“…51 Recognizing cadmium as a food-safety issue, various researchers performed prophylactic studies to determine the relative contribution of genetics, soil, fertilizer nutrients, and environment to the levels of cadmium concentration in wheat. 52 In general, genetics contributed to the greatest proportion of the variation. Most durum wheat (Triticum turgidum spp.…”

“…54 The new generation of Canadian durum cultivars have cadmium content of less than 100 μg kg −1 . 52 The concentration of a beneficial compound can be increased provided there is sufficient genetic variation. Durum wheat can be milled to make the granular product semolina, used to produce pasta.…”