Hybrid Wheat:  Looking Ahead

P. Stephen Baenziger1, Vikas Belamkar1, Amanda C. Easterly1, Nicholas Garst1, Hannah Stoll2, Amir M.H. Ibrahim3, Bhoja Basnet4, Jackie C. Rudd3, and Jean-Benoit Sarazin5

1** Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, University of Nebraska, USA.

2** Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, University of Minnesota, USA.

3** Texas AgriLife Institute, Texas A&M University, USA, 4CIMMYT, MX, 5Asur Plant Breeding, Estrées-Saint-Denis, France.

pbaenziger1@unl.edu

Abstract

Wheat (Triticum spp.) yields will need to increase by 1.7% per year (from its current increase of 0.9% per year) to feed a larger global population with increasing dietary needs. Hybrid wheat, which is more climate resilient than pureline wheat, can contribute to achieving this goal. To effectively develop hybrid wheat the following needs to be done: (1) identify heterosis from previously made and predicted wheat hybrids; (2) develop male and female parent lines with the  characteristics needed to develop experimental and commercial wheat hybrids in a cost-efficient manner create; (3) Develop heterotic groups or patterns and test multiple mating designs for effectively creating wheat hybrids; and (4) develop cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) line development and identification and validate restorer genes for wheat hybrids. Recent hybrid wheat research has made great strides in the U.S. and abroad toward developing the tools to foster hybrid wheat development to maximize wheat yield potential. Using an integrated approach involving elite germplasm, chemical hybridizing agents, breeding, phenotyping, genomic selection, and quantitative trait loci mapping it should be possible to help create the scientific and germplasm foundations for successfully launching the hybrid wheat industry in the U.S. and globally.  Finally, the research spin-offs from these efforts may have far-reaching improvements in conventional pureline breeding.

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Keywords:  Heterosis, Triticum spp., hybridizing agents, male sterility