Bristling with potential: evaluating the effects of awns on yield under heat stress

Awns are bristle-like structures present in many grass species. While researchers have identified ecological roles for these organs in natural grass populations, their 'usefulness' in grass crop species, such as wheat, has been less clear. DeWitt et al. (2023) have leveraged historic data from breeding programmes across the southeastern USA to provide more insights into this question. Their meta-analysis confirms that awned wheat performs better in heat-stressed environments than awnless wheat. Crucially, though, they show that awned wheat is predicted to provide more year-to-year stability in yield, suggesting that awns could be an important trait for adapting crops to changing climatic conditions. © The Author(s) 2023.