Determining optimal flowering time to maximize wheat yields in low rainfall areas of Turkey and Iran

Description of the topic

Flowering time in wheat is one of the most important mechanisms of abiotic stress escape, which, if fine-tuned to escape environmental stresses like drought, cold and heat, will maximize grain fertility and yield. Fine-tuning flowering time and including genes related to wheat’s adaptation to the most likely environmental scenarios will increase the crop’s resilience to climate change in low rainfall areas of Turkey and Iran. Moreover, drought tolerance must be evaluated in a wide range of germplasm showing very similar flowering time. To evaluate drought tolerance, stress indices will be developed at key developmental stages to help identify easy-to-measure resilience traits and sources of tolerant germplasm.

Work expectations

Analysis of large sets of climatic, phenotypic and genotypic data to determine optimal flowering time in the region to maximize yield in Turkey and Iran. Several models will be developed using at least 50 different sets of wheat genotypes showing contrasting flowering time under different rainfall patterns.

Development of indices to characterize drought events throughout crop development and their probability across years in Turkey and Iran through the analysis of climatic data.

Analysis of large sets of germplasm (modern and landraces) with similar flowering time previously characterized in field trials to determine drought tolerance mechanisms. This analysis will start by identifying sets of germplasm with different grain yield not determined by a drought escape strategy and by identifying other crop physiological mechanisms underlying that response.

Summarize results in tables and diagrams and draft a publication.

Required skills

Basic statistics skills (ANOVA, GxE analysis); basic knowledge of wheat crop development.