Evaluation of durum wheat lines derived from interspecific crosses under drought and heat stress

Abstract

The productivity of durum wheat [Triticum turgidum subsp. durum (Desf.) van Slageren] is affected by drought and/or high temperatures, challenges to be amplified by climate change. Pre‐breeding using wild relatives can supply useful traits for durum wheat improvement to adapt to major abiotic and biotic stresses. Sixty‐seven lines issued from backcrosses of Cham5 and Haurani durum wheat varieties with accessions of Triticum aegilopoides (Link) Bal. ex Koern., T. dicoccoides Koern. ex Schweinf., T. urartu Thumanian ex Gandilyan, and Aegilops speltoides Tausch were evaluated for drought and heat tolerance. The trials were conducted during two seasons (2016−2017 and 2017–2018) at Tessaout, Morocco, under full irrigation (optimal conditions) and rainfed conditions (drought stressed) and at Wed Medani, Sudan, under full irrigation combined with heat stress. The recurrent parents, along with eight best cultivars and elite breeding lines, were used as checks. Drought reduced the grain yield by 62%. Grain yield and drought tolerance index were used to identify lines to be used by breeding programs to enhance drought and heat tolerance. The derivatives lines 142014 (Cham5*3/T. aegilopoides), 142074 (Cham5*3/T. dicoccoides), and 142015 along with the checks Icarachaz and Gidara 2 ranked among the best under heat stress. Under drought stress, the lines 141972 (Haurani*2/T. urartu) and 141973 (Cham5*2/T. dicoccoides) yielded 196 and 142% of their recurrent parents’ yield, respectively. High variation was found for agronomic and phenology traits, with heading time explaining 16% of grain yield under drought, while thousand kernel weight accounted for 18% of the yield under heat. We conclude that gene introgression from wild relatives pays off and can increase wheat resilience to cope with climate change effects.

Use of Wild Relatives in Durum Wheat (Triticum turgidum L. var. durum Desf.) Breeding Program: Adaptation and Stability in Context of Contrasting Environments in Tunisia

“…However, it is worth noting that Ae. speltoides may be a good source of tolerance to drought, as reported by Waines [44] and Aberkane et al [45].…”

“…As reported by Zaïm et al [30], here, simple top crosses of three wild relative species with old ICARDA varieties followed by targeted field selection did not appear to result in any negative effect; rather, it delivered a large genetic gain in productivity. Aberkane et al [45] also found that the wild relative-derived lines, (Haurani*2/Triticum urartu) and (Cham5*2/T. dicoccoides), yielded, respectively, 196 and 142% of their recurrent parents' yield under drought stress.…”

Contribution of Wild Relatives to Durum Wheat (Triticum turgidum subsp. durum) Yield Stability across Contrasted Environments

“…For instance, line 142001, derived from T. Urartu, had significantly higher BLUPs associated with higher stability, according to both Bi and S 2 di. The same line showed a yield increase under drought stress, combined with earliness and cooler canopy under heat stress [77,85]. Under favorable conditions, some Haurani derivatives (142064 for example) can yield twice as much as the recurrent parent, which indicates a high contribution to yield potential.…”

“…The testing environments exposed durum wheat to favorable conditions, drought, and heat stresses, in addition to disease pressure, mainly leaf rust at Allal Tazi and tan spot at Annoceur. In addition, the contrasting environments at Tessaout and Melk Zher showed their effectiveness to select for drought tolerance [77]. The genetic correlation showed that some genotypes can be selected simultaneously for drought and heat tolerance.…”

Crop Science special issue: Adapting agriculture to climate change: A walk on the wild side

“…com/carrot-stress-tolerance-and-wild-relative-breedingwith-dr-simon-philipp). Aberkane et al (2021), in "Evaluation of durum wheat lines derived from interspecific crosses under drought and heat stress," conclude that gene introgression from wild diploid and wild tetraploid wheat-derived materials pays off and can increase wheat resilience. Drought tolerant genotypes with high values of relative chlorophyll content and more green leaves at maturity have been identified by Ochieng et al (2021), in "Novel sources of drought tolerance from landraces and wild sorghum relatives".…”