Meeting the Challenges Facing Wheat Production: The Strategic Research Agenda of the Global Wheat Initiative

Abstract

Wheat occupies a special role in global food security since, in addition to providing 20% of our carbohydrates and protein, almost 25% of the global production is traded internationally. The importance of wheat for food security was recognised by the Chief Agricultural Scientists of the G20 group of countries when they endorsed the establishment of the Wheat Initiative in 2011. The Wheat Initiative was tasked with supporting the wheat research community by facilitating collaboration, information and resource sharing and helping to build the capacity to address challenges facing production in an increasingly variable environment. Many countries invest in wheat research. Innovations in wheat breeding and agronomy have delivered enormous gains over the past few decades, with the average global yield increasing from just over 1 tonne per hectare in the early 1960s to around 3.5 tonnes in the past decade. These gains are threatened by climate change, the rapidly rising financial and environmental costs of fertilizer, and pesticides, combined with declines in water availability for irrigation in many regions. The international wheat research community has worked to identify major opportunities to help ensure that global wheat production can meet demand. The outcomes of these discussions are presented in this paper.

Grain quality traits within the wheat (Triticum spp.) genepool: prospects for improved nutrition through de novo domestication

“…Wheat ( Triticum spp.) is cultivated at almost all latitudes 1,2 and provides approximately 18% of total dietary calories and 19% of the protein requirements of the global population 1,3 . As the second most widely consumed cereal after rice, wheat is an essential source of micronutrients and other bioactive compounds 1,2,4 .…”

“…is cultivated at almost all latitudes 1,2 and provides approximately 18% of total dietary calories and 19% of the protein requirements of the global population. 1,3 As the second most widely consumed cereal after rice, wheat is an essential source of micronutrients and other bioactive compounds. 1,2,4 Its nutritional contribution is particularly important in countries where food diversity is low and wheat is the primary crop consumed.…”

Physical map of QTLs for some agronomic traits across many environments, identification of related candidate genes, and development of KASP markers with emphasis on terminal heat stress tolerance in common wheat

“…Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is one of the most widely grown food crops, with a global production of 781.31 million metric tons (Mt) in 2022-23 (https://www.statista.com/statistics/267268/wheat-production-globally-since-1990). Wheat also plays an important role in nutrition and food security because it meets 20% of the daily carbohydrate and protein needs in human diet, and 25% of its total production is traded internationally (Langridge et al 2022). According to CIMMYT, at least annual genetic yield gains of 0.7% are needed to su ciently increase the wheat production to meet the future global demand (https://www.cimmyt.org/work/wheat-research/).However, achieving this goal may be di cult due to current and future abiotic and biotic stresses, such as the occurrence of more frequent heat and drought stress episodes as a result of climate change.…”

“…According to CIMMYT, at least annual genetic yield gains of 0.7% are needed to su ciently increase the wheat production to meet the future global demand (https://www.cimmyt.org/work/wheat-research/).However, achieving this goal may be di cult due to current and future abiotic and biotic stresses, such as the occurrence of more frequent heat and drought stress episodes as a result of climate change. Nearly half of all wheat produced worldwide experiences high temperature stress, and >20 million hectare (Mha) consistently experiences water de ciencies, limiting wheat output (for more information, see Langridge et al 2022). Together, these two abiotic stresses account for 40% of the variability in annual wheat yield (Zampieri et al 2017).…”

Phenotyping and identification of target traits for de novo domestication of wheat wild relatives

“…Wheat ( Triticum aestivum L., 2n = 6x = 42, BBAADD) is one of the major staples (Langridge et al, 2022). The Triticum genepool consists of di‐, tetra‐, and hexaploid taxa.…”