World practice of breeding adaptive varieties of cereal crops in conditions of climate change
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31073/acss99-04Keywords:
grain yield stability; stress tolerance; genomic selection tools; marker-assisted selection; genetic engineering; in vitro culture; sustainable intensificationAbstract
Grain production is highly sensitive to weather variability, especially to extreme events in terms of their intensity and duration, while individual growth stages differ in their vulnerability to heat, drought, waterlogging and other stressors. The aim of this study is to generalize the contribution of global breeding practice for grain crops, to systematize key approaches to enhancing their adaptive potential, and to outline priority directions for further development under conditions of accelerating climate change. The research is based on general scientific methods of cognition, including system analysis, synthesis, abstraction, generalization, deduction, concretization and formalization. The study summarizes current evidence on how extreme weather factors affect quantitative and qualitative indicators of grain yield and reviews modern breeding strategies aimed at minimising these negative impacts. Particular attention is paid to the development of varieties tolerant to abiotic and biotic stresses, increasing productivity and technological quality of grain, and the introduction of innovative tools such as genomic selection, genetic engineering, marker-assisted selection (MAS) and in vitro technologies. It is substantiated that implementing adaptive management in cereal cultivation – through variety choice, optimisation of sowing dates and density, fertiliser systems and crop protection – reduces production risks and costs, stabilises yields and enhances resilience of cropping systems. The results are practically relevant for programmes of development and modernisation of agricultural enterprises specialising in the cultivation of grain crops, where the strategic priority is to combine environmental safety with economic efficiency in line with the European green transition and the global trend towards climate-smart agriculture.
References
Zabel, F., Müller, C., Elliott, J., Minoli, S., Jägermeyr, J., Schneider, J. M., & Asseng, S. (2021). Large potential for crop production adaptation depends on available future varieties. Global Change Biology, 27(16), 3870–3882. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15649
Wolfe, M. S., & Ceccarelli, S. (2020). The increased use of diversity in cereal cropping requires more descriptive precision. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 100(11), 4119–4123. https://doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.9906
Siddiqui, M. N., Léon, J., Naz, A. A., & Ballvora, A. (2021). Genetics and genomics of root system variation in adaptation to drought stress in cereal crops. Journal of Experimental Botany, 72(4), 1007–1019. https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/eraa487
Varshney, R. K., Barmukh, R., Roorkiwal, M., Qi, Y., Kholova, J., Tuberosa, R., & Siddique, K. H. (2021). Breeding custom-designed crops for improved drought adaptation. Advanced Genetics, 2(3), e202100017. https://doi.org/10.1002/ggn2.202100017
Vadez, V., Grondin, A., Chenu, K., Henry, A., Laplaze, L., Millet, E. J., & Carminati, A. (2024). Crop traits and production under drought. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, 5(3), 211–225. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-023-00514-w
Snowdon, R. J., Wittkop, B., Chen, T. W., & Stahl, A. (2021). Crop adaptation to climate change as a consequence of long-term breeding. Theoretical and Applied Genetics, 134(6), 1613–1623. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-020-03729-3
Marone, D., Russo, M. A., Mores, A., Ficco, D. B., Laidò, G., Mastrangelo, A. M., & Borrelli, G. M. (2021). Importance of landraces in cereal breeding for stress tolerance. Plants, 10(7), 1267. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10071267
Kom, Z., Nethengwe, N. S., Mpandeli, N. S., & Chikoore, H. (2022). Determinants of small-scale farmers’ choice and adaptive strategies in response to climatic shocks in Vhembe District, South Africa. GeoJournal, 87(2), 677–700. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-020-10272-7
Fatima, Z., Ahmed, M., Hussain, M., Abbas, G., Ul-Allah, S., Ahmad, S., & Hussain, S. (2020). The fingerprints of climate warming on cereal crops phenology and adaptation options. Scientific Reports, 10, 18013. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-74740-3
Fradgley, N., Gardner, K. A., Cockram, J., Elderfield, J., Hickey, J. M., Howell, P., & Mackay, I. J. (2019). A large-scale pedigree resource of wheat reveals evidence for adaptation and selection by breeders. PLOS Biology, 17(2). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3000071
Bapela, T., Shimelis, H., Tsilo, T. J., & Mathew, I. (2022). Genetic improvement of wheat for drought tolerance: Progress, challenges and opportunities. Plants, 11(10). https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11101331
Yanagi, M. (2024). Climate change impacts on wheat production: Reviewing challenges and adaptation strategies. Advances in Resources Research, 4(1), 89–107. https://doi.org/10.50908/arr.4.1_89
Le Campion, A., Oury, F. X., Heumez, E., & Rolland, B. (2020). Conventional versus organic farming systems: Dissecting comparisons to improve cereal organic breeding strategies. Organic Agriculture, 10(1), 63–74. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13165-019-00249-3
Kamal, N. M., Gorafi, Y. S. A., Abdelrahman, M., Abdellatef, E., & Tsujimoto, H. (2019). Stay-green trait: A prospective approach for yield potential, and drought and heat stress adaptation in globally important cereals. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 20(23). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms20235837
Minoli, S., Jägermeyr, J., Asseng, S., Urfels, A., & Müller, C. (2022). Global crop yields can be lifted by timely adaptation of growing periods to climate change. Nature Communications, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-34411-5
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
