Establishing and Addressing Breeding Priorities for Wheat with Respect to Climate Change

Grants and Contracts Details

Description

Genetic improvement for wheat has been slow compared to other major grain crops in the United States. Recent research suggests that current wheat cultivars are vulnerable to climate change; without a concerted effort, yields are likely to stagnate further. Dealing with climate change will require an industry-wide, on-going dialogue that is informed by findings from multiple disciplines. We propose to convene a small, multi-disciplinary group of U.S.-based scientists to articulate a framework for establishing breeding goals for climate change resilience. The scientists will be a hand-picked group comprising wheat breeders, climate modelers, crop modelers, plant physiologists, economists, and socio-spatial scientists. The group will have the following objectives: 1) To build consensus on the manifestations of climate change. 2) To prioritize breeding objectives in response to these. 3) to coordinate research across the many institutions involved in wheat breeding. 4) To connect not just wheat breeders, but other types of scientists to each other. 5) To identify and address the current constraints and incentives that shape the breeding and research portfolios of wheat breeders. The proposed meeting is the first step toward our longer-term goals of a) encouraging multidisciplinary, longer-term, coordinated experiments; b) generating high-quality panel field trial data; c) creating institutional structures in which all breeders have greater incentive to engage in breeding for climate resilience. This conference grant proposal is submitted in response to the Kansas Wheat Commission's priority of accessing and mobilizing genes within collections of wild wheat species for germplasm enhancement and elite cultivar development.
StatusFinished
Effective start/end date6/15/206/14/23

Funding

  • National Institute of Food and Agriculture: $25,000.00

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