Physiological Processes Associated with Wheat Yield Progress in the UK

By V. Shearman, R. Sylvester-Bradley, R. K. Scott, M. J. Foulkes. Crop science, 2005

597 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Knowledge of the changes in physiological traits associated with genetic gains in yield potential is essential to improve understanding of yield-limiting factors and to inform future breeding strategies. Our objective was to identify physiological traits associated with genetic gains in grain yield of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in the UK. The growth and development of eight representative cultivars introduced from 1972 to 1995 (one tall rht-D1b cultivar and seven Rht-D1b, formerly Rht2, semidwarf cultivars) was examined in field experiments at Sutton Bonington in 1996-1997, 1997-1998, and 1998-1999. A linear genetic gain in grain yield of 0.12 Mg ha(-1) yr(-1) (1.2% yr(-1)) was positively correlated with both harvest index (HI) and aboveground biomass; a quadratic function fitted to the data showed that progress in HI was most apparent during the earlier phase of the 23-yr period, whereas biomass contributed most since about 1983. There was a linear increase across time of 217 grains m(-2) yr(-1), but no change in grain weight. Significant genetic changes across time and correlations with grain yield were also found for preanthesis radiation-use efficiency (RUE, 0.012 g MJ(-1) yr(-1)) and water soluble carbohydrate (WSC) content of stems and leaf sheaths at anthesis (4.6 g m(-2) yr(-1)). Our results suggest that recent genetic gains in grain yield have been based on a combination of improved growth rate in the preanthesis period, which has driven increases in number of grains per square meter, and a larger source for grain filling through increases in stem soluble carbohydrate reserves.

Subfields: Agronomy and Crop Science, Plant Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/3107d03721a016db2286c169960b164657e21263

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Citations in the corpus

Nitrogen efficiency of wheat: Genotypic and environmental variation and prospects for improvement (2010, background): “There is evidence that increased dry atter production has contributed to recent gains in yield potential f short-straw varieties (Shearman et al., 2005; Foulkes et al., 2007).”
Long-term global availability of food: continued abundance or new scarcity? (2008, background): “From a genetic point of view, improving harvest indices no longer seems a promising route to substantially increase yield potentials (Reynolds et al. 2005; Shearman et al. 2005).”
Ideotype design for lodging-resistant wheat (2007, background): “Evidence that UK plant breeders have begun to increase total biomass has been reported by Shearman et al. (2005).”
The Physiological Basis of the Genetic Progress in Yield Potential of CIMMYT Spring Wheat Cultivars from 1966 to 2009 (2015, background): “…flag leaf with breeding progress at CIMMYT (e.g., smaller, more erect flag leaves, higher N per unit area) (Fischer et al., 1998) were similar to those reported for winter wheat progress in the United Kingdom (e.g., smaller, more erect flag leaves, higher DM per unit area) (Shearman et al., 2005).”
Yield improvement and adaptation of wheat to water-limited environments in Australia—a case study (2014, background): “However, there has been little evidence for improved aboveground biomass contributing to increased yields until more recently (e.g. Shearman et al. 2005; Sadras and Lawson 2011; Bustos et al. 2013).”
Interactions between water and nitrogen in Australian cropping systems: physiological, agronomic, economic, breeding and modelling perspectives (2016, background): “Selection for yield increased shootwater-soluble carbohydrates at anthesis in both stressful Australian conditions and highyielding UK environments (Shearman et al. 2005; Sadras and Lawson 2011).”
Breeding for Yield Potential and Stress Adaptation in Cereals (2008, background): “Moreover (and even when it is conceptually difficult to support) there are reports indicating that this trait may also increase yield potential (Shearman et al., 2005).”
Genetic gain in yield and associated changes in phenotype, trait plasticity and competitive ability of South Australian wheat varieties released between 1958 and 2007 (2011, background): “Nonetheless, the linear increase in harvest index in our varieties and the gap between actual and theoretical maximum indicates that further improvement in harvest index is more likely for South Australian varieties than for their European counterparts, where increase in harvest index has slowed as ”
Fruiting efficiency: an alternative trait to further rise wheat yield (2015, background): “In fact, genetic gains in wheat yield have been more related to improvements in the number than in the size of the grains (e.g., Canevara et al. 1994 ; Calderini et al. 1995 ; Sayre et al. 1997 ; Shearman et al. 2005 ; Acreche et al. 2008 ).”
Breeding for increased nitrogen‐use efficiency: a review for wheat (T. aestivum L.) (2016, background): “However, in wheat, it is already around 60– 70% (Shearman et al. 2005, Moreau et al. 2012).”