{"id":775,"date":"2025-10-16T08:03:57","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T06:03:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/agrotecnio.org\/identifiquen-lestrategia-de-seleccio-genetica-mes-eficient-per-obtenir-varietats-de-blat-mes-productives\/"},"modified":"2026-02-01T12:38:34","modified_gmt":"2026-02-01T11:38:34","slug":"study-identifies-the-best-breeding-strategy-for-more-productive-wheat-varieties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/agrotecnio.org\/en\/study-identifies-the-best-breeding-strategy-for-more-productive-wheat-varieties\/","title":{"rendered":"Study identifies the best breeding strategy for more productive wheat varieties"},"content":{"rendered":"\nA study in which Jos\u00e9 Luis Araus, professor at the Faculty of Biology of the University of Barcelona and researcher at Agrotecnio, has participated, has identified the most efficient strategy to obtain wheat varieties that are more productive and resilient under adverse environmental conditions such as drought or high temperatures.\u00a0\n\nAs a result of this discovery, the researchers have considered how to obtain more productive varieties and point out that the most economical and effective strategy for the genetic improvement of crops consists of a two-phase process: in the first, varieties that show the highest yield potential are chosen, and in the second, those that have best adapted to the environment in which they were grown are selected. This approach could have significant economic implications, as it would reduce the number of locations needed to select advanced breeding lines.\u00a0\n\nThe work, a review of the scientific literature published in the journal <i>Trends in Plant Science<\/i>, included the participation of researchers Alejandro del Pozo from the University of Talca (Chile) and Victor Sadras from the University of Adelaide (Australia).\u00a0\n\n<b>A possible solution to a scientific debate<\/b>\u00a0\n\nIncreasing the yield potential of wheat and its resilience to factors such as drought or high temperatures \u2014which are becoming more frequent due to climate change\u2014 is essential to feed a global population that is expected to reach 9.5 billion people by 2050.\u00a0\n\nThe genetic selection of varieties is a key resource in this challenge, but it is an iterative process that can take years: it consists of crossing individuals that show the best agronomic and physiological traits and subjecting the resulting filial generations to selection processes.\u00a0\n\nThe scientific debate on what is most appropriate is ongoing: some argue that selection should be based on the grain\u2019s yield potential under optimal conditions, while others believe it should be based on the grain\u2019s ability to adapt to stress conditions.\u00a0\n\nAraus believes that the study\u2019s results show that selecting varieties under very severe environmental conditions \u201cis not the best breeding strategy, as it may limit their yield.\u201d He illustrates this point: \u201cSelecting based on physiological efficiency in water use (understood as the photosynthesis-transpiration ratio) would be negative in terms of productivity.\u201d\u00a0\n\n\u201cOn the other hand \u2014continues the UB professor\u2014, what is good under optimal conditions is also good under not-so-optimal ones: a high-yield candidate selected in the best environment will normally outperform varieties that have not been selected for their potential yield, and this will occur across a wide range of conditions, such as moderate or severe droughts.\u201d\u00a0\n\nThe only exceptions would occur in extremely stressful environments. But even in that case, Araus defends the mentioned strategy: \u201cEven in a climate change context like the current one, where we will increasingly face more extreme situations, we must opt for this strategy, since the productivity of varieties developed under extreme conditions would not be profitable for European farmers.\u201d\u00a0\n\n<b>A more economical and effective strategy<\/b>\u00a0\n\nThe study has allowed researchers to establish what would be the most appropriate strategy for carrying out this genetic selection process. According to the results, the first phases \u2014the first six or seven generations\u2014 should be centralized in an optimal agronomic environment (with the best possible conditions) and varieties should be selected according to their maximum possible yield. In the following phases, advanced lines with good agronomic quality should be sent for final selection to the specific area where they are to be cultivated \u2014for a couple of additional generations\u2014 to identify the most locally adapted varieties.\u00a0\n\nThis approach would have two main advantages. The first would be economic, since \u201creducing the number of sites where advanced lines are selected, prioritizing the development of well-managed crops in favorable environments, would also reduce the overall cost of breeding worldwide,\u201d explains Araus. The second advantage would be efficiency: selecting in optimal environments is more efficient, as it minimizes factors that can confuse the breeder. \u201cIf conditions are optimal, the plant\u2019s genetic potential is better expressed. Conversely, under suboptimal conditions (lack of water, poor soils, or variable temperatures) there is more environmental noise, which makes it harder to identify the best individuals,\u201d argues the UB professor.\u00a0\n\n<b>Key agronomic and physiological traits<\/b>\u00a0\n\nThe research also identified agronomic and physiological characteristics associated with better performance. \u201cSome of the traits that make plants perform better, especially considering that water is the most limiting factor for productivity, are those that increase their ability to capture water: it\u2019s not so much about being highly efficient in using water, but about being able to use more of it than other varieties,\u201d explains Araus.\u00a0\n\nThis can be achieved, for example, \u201cwith roots capable of exploring the soil in depth when there is no water, or taking advantage of surface water when it rains or when the crop is irrigated,\u201d he adds.\u00a0\n\nLikewise, crop architecture is key: light should be distributed as evenly as possible between the upper and lower layers of the plants. \u201cFor all the leaves to contribute to light use, the upper leaves should be as vertical as possible to let radiation pass through and reach the lower parts,\u201d details the researcher.\u00a0\n\nOther determining factors would be the production of more spikes per unit area, an increase in the number of grains, and a higher canopy photosynthesis rate per unit of solar radiation. \u201cAll this is achieved through suitable architecture and good water uptake conditions that keep the stomata open,\u201d he highlights.\u00a0\n\nAccording to Araus, \u201cthere is no panacea or single trait,\u201d but rather a set of characteristics that allow improving the efficiency of radiation and water use.\u00a0\n\nFinally, the study also analyzed transgenic pathways to increase yield, but \u201cso far they have not produced significant results.\u201d Moreover, \u201cthe results of adaptation to specific stress conditions such as drought are rather modest,\u201d concludes the researcher.\u00a0\n<p><strong>Text and image: UB press office<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A study in which Jos\u00e9 Luis Araus, professor at the Faculty of Biology of the University of Barcelona and researcher at Agrotecnio, has participated, has identified the most efficient strategy to obtain wheat varieties that are more productive and resilient under adverse environmental conditions such as drought or high temperatures.\u00a0 As a result of this [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":776,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-775","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-noticies"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/agrotecnio.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/775","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/agrotecnio.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/agrotecnio.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agrotecnio.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agrotecnio.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=775"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/agrotecnio.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/775\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5220,"href":"https:\/\/agrotecnio.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/775\/revisions\/5220"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agrotecnio.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/agrotecnio.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agrotecnio.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=775"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agrotecnio.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}