Increasing intrinsic heat tolerance of wheat

Project details

Status: Current

Wheat and heat stress

Wheat is one of the most important crops in the world, however it is often affected by heat stress, making it susceptible to more frequent and severe heat stress predicted as a result of global climate change.

In Australia, it is predicted that heat stress will cause wheat yield losses of 12 percent by 2050. The long-term outcome of this investment is to enable Australian growers to achieve at least 1 per cent higher yields under heat stress, which equates to a potential annual benefit of $62 million.

Improving heat tolerance of wheat

This project aims to increase wheat yields in Australia by improving the crop’s intrinsic heat tolerance and increasing the upper temperature limit at which wheat will optimally grow.

The research team will examine the performance of wheat lines under heat stress in greenhouse and field conditions to better understand the molecular and genetic basis of the source-sink relationship in regulating heat tolerance in wheat.

The source is photosynthates produced from the vegetative portion of the plant through photosynthesis. Grain is the sink, where photosynthates and nutrients are mobilised in the plant.