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Grain yield progress over 50 years of spring wheat breeding at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) was determined in field trials conducted during five crop seasons (2013–2017) at Norman E. Borlaug research station near Ciudad Obregon, Mexico. The trials included 30 varieties (24 bread wheat and 6 durum wheat) released between 1965–2014 and were sown under managed optimum, drought, and heat stress conditions. The optimum irrigated environment had 3 management systems, flat sowing with weekly drip irrigation (FDI), bed sowing with flood irrigation (BFI), and flat sowing with flood irrigation (FFI). The drought environment had 2 management systems, flat sowing with reduced irrigation (FRI) and flat sowing under severe drought stress (FSD). The heat stress environment was sown in beds (HFI) three months later than the normally sown irrigated and drought environments. The rate of grain yield progress was estimated relative to Sonalika released in 1965 and Mexicali C75 released in 1975 for bread and durum wheat, respectively. Grain yield progress per year for bread wheat was, 31.2 kg ha−1, 35.3 kg ha−1, and 24.7 kg ha−1 in irrigated environments FDI, BFI, and FFI, respectively. In the stress environments, bread wheat grain yield progress was estimated as 25.6 kg ha−1, 17.7 kg ha−1, and 18.1 kg ha−1 per year in FRI, FSD, and HFI, respectively. For durum wheat, the grain yield progress was estimated as 29.6 kg ha−1, 48.1 kg ha−1, 18.8 kg ha−1, and 29.8 kg ha−1, per year in FDI, BFI, FFI, and HFI, respectively. Trait linkage graph analysis using LASSO regularized graphical model estimated that biomass, harvest index, and grains per meter square (GNM) were linked to grain yield progress in all environments. Thousand kernel weight was associated with grain yield progress under optimum and heat stress conditions, whereas grain weight per tiller (GWT) associated with progress under drought. Results also show that the highest yielding varieties in each environment however, had different trait attributes, with some varieties having higher GNM and tillers per meter square compensating for low GWT, while others had high GWT to compensate for reduced GNM. In conclusion, CIMMYT’s wheat breeding program has continued to show progress in grain yield in different environments/management systems, and while certain traits have consistently improved over the years, the varieties developed have employed different trait strategies to achieve final grain yield.

Highlights • Linear and consistent grain yield genetic gains in the HRWYT has been observed. • Several best performing lines were common in both high and low rainfall environments. • The genetic gains were explained by paralleled increases in grain weight, day to maturity and grain filling period. • These results indicate continuous genetic progress and yield stability in the HRWYT germplasm developed by CIMMYT., The effects of climate change together with the projected future demand represents a huge challenge for wheat production systems worldwide. Wheat breeding can contribute to global food security through the creation of genotypes exhibiting stress tolerance and higher yield potential. The objectives of our study were to (i) estimate the annual grain yield (GY) genetic gain of High Rainfall Wheat Yield Trials (HRWYT) grown from 2007 (15th HRWYT) to 2016 (24th HRWYT) across international environments, and (ii) determine the changes in physiological traits associated with GY genetic improvement. The GY genetic gains were estimated as genetic progress per se (GYP) and in terms of local checks (GYLC). In total, 239 international locations were classified into two groups: high- and low-rainfall environments based on climate variables and trial management practices. In the high-rainfall environment, the annual genetic gains for GYP and GYLC were 3.8 and 1.17 % (160 and 65.1 kg ha−1 yr−1), respectively. In the low-rainfall environment, the genetic gains were 0.93 and 0.73 % (40 and 33.1 kg ha−1 yr−1), for GYP and GYLC respectively. The GY of the lines included in each nursery showed a significant phenotypic correlation between high- and low-rainfall environments in all the examined years and several of the five best performing lines were common in both environments. The GY progress was mainly associated with increased grain weight (R2 = 0.35 p < 0.001), days to maturity (R2 = 0.20, p < 0.001) and grain filling period (R2 = 0.06, p < 0.05). These results indicate continuous GY genetic progress and yield stability in the HRWYT germplasm developed and distributed by CIMMYT.

The relationship between the simultaneously observed positions of the maximum omnidirectional flux of the quiet-time ring current positive ions (Λ φ ) and the maximum electron temperature Λ T in the trough is studied in the midnight sector of the topside ionosphere. Λ φ maps to the inner edge of the plasma sheet where ring current fluxes change from nearly isotropic to trapped. At altitudes near 2500 km, the electron temperature at trough latitudes were always sharply peaked. Although Λ φ varied with the level of geomagnetic activity, ( Λ φ − Λ T ) did not. These observations support the hypothesis that the quiet-time ring current is the source of elevated electron temperatures found near the plasmapause. Below 1300 km, peaked electron temperature distributions in the trough were not consistent features of the data. It is shown that ( Λ φ − Λ T ) increased with decreasing altitude. The possible influences of a westward component to the convective electric field and ionospheric refraction of ion cyclotron waves are discussed.