Fernanda Dreccer, H. OuabbouT. Condon, F. Makdis, L. Barnes,, F. Eticha, M.Reynolds, M. G. Borgognone, S. Udupa, T. Wuletaw, F. C. Ogbonnaya

PLANT INDUSTRY

Impact of key physiological traits on wheat adaptation to

contrasting drought mega-environments

Background

2 |

• Limited water availability: most important abiotic constraint to yield globally; increasing uncertainty regarding rising temperature and atmospheric demand.

• Yield improvement remains slow, due to the large GxE interaction.

• Given the changing timing and intensity of drought, different patterns of water use (and traits underpinning them) are required to maximise yield.

Traits for drought types | Dreccer

Objectives

I. Assess the relative impact of putative key traits to different drought mega-environments.

II. Develop and validate a field-based phenotyping system to estimate patterns of crop water use on a seasonal basis

III. Evaluate ICARDA elite drought adapted lines and the traits underpinning them.

IV. Build capability in non-invasive phenotyping, particularly within the Central and West Asia and North Africa.

Traits for increased water productivity.....

Tillering

Early vigour

Water soluble carbohydrates

Phenology

C13 disc.

Stay green

.....have the potential to increase transpiration, shift WU to critical crop periods, increase water use efficiency and/or influence biomass partitioning to the grains

Traits for drought types | Dreccer

Passioura and Angus

Environments, germplasm & methods

CIMMYT, Mexico

EIAR, Ethiopia

CSIRO, AU

INRA/CRRA Morocco

ICARDA, Syria and Lebanon

Summer dominant rainfall

Winter dominant rainfall

Uniform rainfall

Environments: 38 (YxLxM) Up to 245 lines: • ICARDA elite nurseries • Trait comparison lines • Global checks Measurements: • Ground cover • Canopy temperature • Phenology • Biomass, yield and components • Environment Analysis: • MET analysis; linear mixed models

Traits for drought types | Dreccer

Genetic correlations show specific adaptation for Yield

Traits for drought types | Dreccer 5 |

10MX_Cia_RF10ET_Kul_RF10ET_De_RF10ET_Mel_RF09ET_Mel_RF09ET_De_RF10SY_Mal12MO_SEA_Late12MO_ZEM_Late11MO_SEA_RF11MO_SEA_Irr10MO_SEA_RF10MO_SEA_IRR10SY_TTa_RF11AU_Tem_RF10LE_Ter11SY_Mal11SY_THa11SY_Bre_RF11LE_KDa10SY_THa11LE_Ter10AU_Lee_RF11AU_Yan_RF10AU_Lee_IRR10SY_THa_Late11MO_Mar_RF10AU_Gat_IRR_Late10AU_Gat_RF10AU_Gat_IRR10AU_Tem_RF09AU_Gat_RF09AU_Gat_IRR

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-1.0

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Et+Mx

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Morocco In-season rainfall vs.

Stored soil moisture

Later maturity advantageous in longer seasons with intermittent rainfall

6 |

-2.5

-1.5

-0.5

0.5

1.5

2.5

-15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15

Yie

ld B

LUP

s

Days to Flowering BLUPs

10MO_SEA

11MO_SEA

spring

winter

• Yields from 2 (2010) to 5 (2011) t/ha.

• Yields were correlated to GN/m2.

• Resources such as radiation and N, better utilised for grain production

Traits for drought types | Dreccer

In- season rainfall - Morocco

Traits for drought types| Dreccer 7 |

-2.5

-1.5

-0.5

0.5

1.5

2.5

-200 -100 0 100 200

Yie

ld B

LUP

s

Spikes per m2 BLUPs

10MO_SEA

11MO_SEA

-2.5

-1.5

-0.5

0.5

1.5

2.5

-200 -100 0 100 200

Yie

ld B

LUP

s

Spikes per m2 BLUPs

10MO_SEA

11MO_SEA

SVS tin CSIRO

ZAFIR-ICARDA

NEJMAH-ICARDA

In seasons with intermittent rainfall, more spikes per m2 lead to more yield independently of flowering date

• Very low +/no correlation between flowering date and spike number

SVS tin lines ca. 7 days earlier and ICARDA lines less than a day later compared to site average.

In- season rainfall - Morocco

8 |

Stored soil moisture- Ethiopia

-2.5

-1.5

-0.5

0.5

1.5

2.5

-15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15

Yie

ld B

LUP

s

Days to Flowering BLUPs

10ET_Melkassa

10ET_Dhera

• Yield associated to GN/m2 via grains per spike, not spike number m2. • Short spikes with few grains.

• High TE lines had 25% more yield across sites.

Earlier maturing lines did better under terminal drought

Traits for drought types| Dreccer

winter

spring

Real-time simulation of LAI, water use: derived phenotypes

9 |

Tota

l bio

mas

s

LAI

Gro

und

cove

r

Zad

oks

Long season

Phenotyping- Dreccer

1. Photograph canopy

2. Fit phenology, look for parameter combination (kl, SLA) to fit GC with minimum error

3. Estimate LAI, biomass, water use

4. Compare ‘derived phenotypes’, e.g. total transpiration, season TE

Dreccer, Zheng, Chapman, Chan

Conclusions/Next steps

• Initial analysis highlighted the possibilities for E specific adaptation • A particular flowering pattern can have opposite effects in different drought types.

• Developmental and morphological traits are important drivers of water productivity. • Flowering and tillering patterns can be combined for yield advantage.

• For crops grown under stored soil moisture, traits saving water for the critical period (higher TE), tackling spike sterility or sustaining grain growth (high WSC) are likely candidates for combination.

• Analysis of traits in the context of weather/water availability conditions per pheno-stage

• Phenotyping: • Streamlined methods to characterise main target traits • Attempt at integration via phenotyping + simulation with initial encouraging results on the

‘derived phenotype’ for seasonal trends (T, TE). Effort needs to continue. • Development of cheaper technologies to be deployed more widely

10 | Traits for drought types | Dreccer

Outputs/Products

Presentation title | Presenter name 11 |

Germplasm characterisation • 38 (YxLxM) across drought mega-environments • Data: yield, components, height, development and height genes

Dreccer 12 |

Germplasm Trait Number Availability

ICARDA lines Drought nurseries up to 200 Free

Seri x Babax RILS WSC, tillering Ca. 20 M. Reynolds

CSIRO lines Tillering (tin), TE (13C), EV Ca. 25 MTA

• Syria: 10 elite germplasm lines were to be planted in on-farm trials involving 30 farmers in Nov./Dec. 2011. This was thwarted by the unrest.

• Morocco: breeders have selected 23 lines, now in crossing blocks. • Ethiopia: NARS breeders identified 15-20 lines for performance under drought , stem

and yellow rust resistance to the Ethiopian pathotypes. Crossing started in 2010. Selections also tested at Preliminary National Variety trials.

Germplasm take-up

• 2 workshops on phenotyping for water productivity: Aleppo 2010 and Rabat 2013.

• Trait value in different environments • Phenotyping methods • Association mapping • QEI & QTI including crop simulation for functional responses of WU

Dreccer 13 |

Capability building

Papers

PLANT INDUSTRY

Thank you

Francis Ogbonnaya Tony G. Condon

Farid Makdis and Sripada Udupa Laura Barnes

Hassan Ouabbou Firdissa Eticha and Solomon Gelalcha Matthew Reynolds Gaby Borgognone Greg Rebetzke, Osman Abdallah Tadesse Wuletaw