Growing importance of drought stress

Moisture deficits loom as one of the greatest challenges to future crop production. Severe drought in parts of the U.S., Australia, and Africa in recent years drastically reduced crop yields and disrupted regional economies. Even in average years, however, many agricultural regions, including the U.S. Great Plains, suffer from chronic moisture deficits. Cereal crops typically attain only about 25% of their potential yield due to the effects of environmental stress, with moisture stress the most important cause. Two major trends will likely increase the frequency and severity of crop moisture deficits:
(1) Global climate change. Higher temperatures are likely to increase crop water use due to increased transpiration. A warmer atmosphere will also speed up melting of mountain snowpack, resulting in less water available for irrigation. More extreme weather patterns will increase the frequency of drought in some regions.
(2) Competing uses for limited water supplies. Increased demand from municipal and industrial users will further reduce the amount of water available for irrigated crops.
Although changes in tillage and irrigation practices can improve production by conserving water, enhancing the genetic tolerance of crops to drought stress is considered an essential strategy for addressing moisture deficits.
The increasing need for plant breeders


As world population continues to increase and incomes rise, the demand for agricultural products will increase. While in the past increased crop productivity was due equally to improved genetics and improved crop management, future growth will be due more to improved genetics through plant breeding.
Our research has shown that too few plant breeders are being educated, and hence, there is a growing need for more plant breeders. Unfortunately, the capacity to educate plant breeders within the U.S. and internationally has declined, and therefore, it is more difficult for institutions to meet the demand.
Project goal

Our primary goal is to improve the capacity of our two universities to conduct training and research programs in plant breeding for drought tolerance. Our specific objectives are to:
Educational component
(1) Train one Ph.D. and one M.S. student for leadership roles in plant breeding for drought tolerance.
(2) Develop, offer, and evaluate a distance education course and a field-oriented short course on the genetics, breeding, and physiology of drought stress tolerance.
(3) Expand research opportunities for undergraduate students.

Research component
(1) Develop and evaluate wheat populations derived by backcrossing synthetic hexaploid germplasm to adapted cultivars.
(2) Determine whether selection for yield performance under a range of moisture conditions is more effective in drier or wetter environments.
(3) Evaluate physiological traits in these populations and determine their relationship with grain yield and yield components under drought stress.
(4) Determine chromosome segments of A. tauschii that are preferentially retained in the most drought tolerant materials.