WHEAT BREEDING IMPROVED STABILITY OF YIELD UNDER CLIMATE CHANGE

Food security is affected by limited arable land, growing food demand and environmental degradation. Therefore, the selection of high-yield, stable-yield and climate-resistant varieties is essential to increase and maintain wheat yield. In this study, the contribution of wheat breeding was analyzed by the data of yield of wheat in production, yield and yield composition trait of wheat regional testing, annual average temperature and annual average precipitation in Sichuan Province over 40 years. The average yield per hectare (YH) of wheat lines of regional testing increased from 4.14 t ha(-1) in 1981 to 5.81 t ha(-1) in 2021. By 2020, the wheat yield and planting area in Sichuan, China were 59.70 10(4) ha and 246.70 10(4 )t, and the yield per hectare increased from 0.82 t ha(-1) in 1952 to 4.13 t ha(-1) in 2020. The lower limits of yield determinants including spikes number per hectare (SNH), grain number per spike (GNS) and thousand grain weight (TGW) were significantly increased. And the obviously shortened growth period (GD) was more beneficial for wheat to cope with the complex climate in Sichuan. These results indicate that wheat breeding has significantly elevated the stability and sensitivity of wheat to climate change, which is helpful in maintaining stability and high yield under environmental anomalies. In addition, the formation of wheat varieties has been accelerated in part on the development of breeding technology. Diversifying wheat varieties is expected to mitigate some of the negative effects of climate change.