Wheat Prospects For Global Improvement

The book contains the proceedings of the Fifth International Wheat Conference at which leading international scientists reviewed current research issues and developments in wheat improvement. The debated topics cover breeding and genetics, genetic resources and importance of free germplasm exchange, breeding for biotic and abiotic stresses, physiology, agronomy and mineral nutrition, grain quality and biotechnology. A significant number of presentations were made by participants from the former USSR and Eastern and Central Europe, making this book also a prime reference for current wheat research and production status in these countries. This book provides an opportunity for wheat scientists interested in global wheat improvement issues to obtain an insight into the research that is currently being conducted worldwide and the prospects of further improvement to meet the increasing demands for this food commodity.

Wheat breeders have achieved significant results over the last fifty years in research on mankind's one of the most important crops. Classical genetic and breeding methods, far broader international cooperation than was experienced in earlier periods, and improvements in agronomic techniques have led to previously unimaginable development in the utilisation of wheat for human consumption. The contribution of wheat researchers is particularly noteworthy since these results have been achieved at a time when the world population has grown extremely dynamically. Despite this demographic explosion, of a proportion never previously experienced, thousands of millions of people have been saved from starvation, thus avoiding unpredictable social consequences and situations irreconcilable with human dignity. Despite these developments in many regions of the world food supplies are still uncertain and the increase in the world's wheat production has not kept pace with the population increase during the last decade. Due to the evils of civilisation and the pollution of the environment there is a constant decline in the per capita area of land suitable for agricultural production. Based on population estimates for 2030, the present wheat yield of around 600 million tonnes will have to be increased to almost 1000 million tonnes if food supplies are to be maintained at the present level.

This book outlines comprehensive information on the global trends, policies, research priorities and frontier innovations made in the research domain of breeding, biotechnology, biofortification and quality enhancement of wheat and barley. With contributions by international group of leading wheat and barley researchers, this book offers data-based insights along with a holistic view of the subject and serve as a vital resource of information for scientists engaged in breeding future high-yielding biofortified varieties. It catalogs both conventional as well as modern tools for gene identification and genome editing interventions for enhancing the yield, grain quality, disease and pest resistance, nutrient-use efficiency and abiotic stress tolerance. The prospects of processing high quality wheat end-products with long term storage and high nutritional quality are also discussed. This book is of interest to teachers, researchers, molecular breeders, cereal biochemists and biotechnologist, policymakers and professionals working in the area of wheat and barley research, food and cereal industry. Also, the book serves as an additional reading material for the undergraduate and graduate students of agriculture and food sciences. National and international agricultural scientists, policy makers will also find this book to be a useful read. Volume 2 of New Horizons in Wheat and Barley Research covers topics in crop protection and resource management.

This open-access textbook provides a comprehensive, up-to-date guide for students and practitioners wishing to access in a single volume the key disciplines and principles of wheat breeding. Wheat is a cornerstone of food security: it is the most widely grown of any crop and provides 20% of all human calories and protein. The authorship of this book includes world class researchers and breeders whose expertise spans cutting-edge academic science all the way to impacts in farmers' fields. The book's themes and authors were selected to provide a didactic work that considers the background to wheat improvement, current mainstream breeding approaches, and translational research and avant garde technologies that enable new breakthroughs in science to impact productivity. While the volume provides an overview for professionals interested in wheat, many of the ideas and methods presented are equally relevant to small grain cereals and crop improvement in general. The book is affordable, and because it is open access, can be readily shared and translated -- in whole or in part -- to university classes, members of breeding teams (from directors to technicians), conference participants, extension agents and farmers. Given the challenges currently faced by academia, industry and national wheat programs to produce higher crop yields -- often with less inputs and under increasingly harsher climates -- this volume is a timely addition to their toolkit.

Understand sustainable development from economic, ecological, and social perspectives As world population continues to increase, the need grows for a safe, sustainable supply of food. Agricultural and Environmental Sustainability: Considerations for the Future provides the latest research results and vital information on the process of p

Learn to identify, modify, and manipulate the genes controlling key quality traits in field crops! This informative book provides state-of-the-art information on improving nutritional quality as well as yield volume in field crops such as wheat, maize, rice, barley, oats, lentils, pigeon peas, soybeans, cool season legumes, and crops whose seeds are used to make oils. With contributions from leading authorities in the field, this book will bring you up to date on the uses of agronomic management, conventional plant breeding, and modern biotechnologies in improving the quality of important food, feed, and fiber products. Quality Improvement in Field Crops examines: factors that impact the end-use quality of wheat and ways to improve wheat’s quality for milling and baking agronomic practices that impact the quality of maize ways to improve the nutritional value of rice and legumes techniques for using molecular markers to improve the quality of lentil crops breeding methods that can improve the quality of the oils derived from oilseed crops protein quality/sulfur metabolism in soybeans and much more! This book is dedicated to the World Food Laureate (the equivalent of the Nobel Prize for food scientists), Dr. G. S. Khush--the father of the Green Revolution in rice farming--in recognition of his tremendous contributions to global food and nutritional security for the world?s population.