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Breeding resistant varieties of wheat is a continuous process and empirical disease control depends on deployment of diverse sources of genetic resistance to the deadly rusts. A total of 166 exotic wheat germplasm accessions were evaluated for resistance to wheat rusts having some component of resistance to either any of the three rusts and spot blotch. The data for adult plant resistance (APR) on leaf and stem rusts, was recorded at Wellington while yellow rust epiphytotic was artificially created at Karnal for identification of resistant lines. Based on APR data 85, 96 and 16 accessions were found completely resistant to leaf, stem and stripe rusts respectively. Based on the seedling resistance data against different pathotypes (10 each for leaf and stripe and 5 for stem rust) of each rust, nine, fifteen and five accessions were found highly resistant respectively. Based on the multi-environment adult plant resistance data and race specific seedling data, we were able to identify 28, accessions highly resistant to either one or two rusts. For spot blotch the evaluation was done at hotspot locations Wadura and Coochbehar and 26 accessions were found to be highly resistant against this disease. The lines so identified in this study are being used in the hybridization programs to enhance the levels of resistance.

Fifty wheat genotypes were evaluated at nine diverse locations in India to identify high-yielding and stable genotypes. The analysis of variance based on additive main effects and multiplicative interaction (AMMI) indicated significant genotype, environment and genotype - environment (GE) interactions, with a total variation of 5.99, 20.23 and 73.77%, respectively. A biplot-AMMI analysis and yield stability index incorporating the AMMI stability value and yield in a single non-parametric index were used to discriminate the genotypes with highest and stable yield; the genotypes G135, G125, G104, G112 and G144 were found to be promising. Two mega environments (ME) were identified based on GGE (genotype and GE interaction) biplot analysis and the genotypes G119 and G120 and G107, G148 and G146 performed best in the mega-environments ME I and ME II, respectively. Both approaches allowed the identification of stable genotypes (G112 and G135), which can be included in the national testing program, with a view to release a new variety.

The paper compares food and straw fodder traits in wheat lines of 6 different CIMMYT wheat trials tested across 32 environments of South Asia (India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan). Experiments were conducted in the main spring wheat season with sowing time of mid-November to mid-December and harvest between March to April. Investigated and compared were grain yield (GY), straw yield (SY), straw nitrogen (N) content, neutral (NDF) and acid (ADF) detergent fiber, acid detergent lignin (ADL), and in vitro organic matter digestibility (IVOMD). Highly significant (P 60%), considerable (45%) for HI and straw N (40%), moderate for ADL (18%), and minor for NDF, ADF, and IVOMD ( Across all cultivar types only ADF was significantly (P 0.05) relationships were observed between N, ADF and IVOMD and SY. Among cultivars consistent relationships were only observed between N and GY which were significantly (P = 0.03 to 0.009) inversely correlated in five out of the six cultivar types. Within cultivars types ADF varied by at least 2.3% units in HTNM and 1st DRYT and up to 4.9% units in ESWYT. By extrapolation such cultivar-dependent differences will matter at wheat straw trading.

Production and productivity of wheat crop is hampered by the biotic and abiotic stresses putting the world food security at risk. Among the biotic stresses, rusts are the major threat throughout the wheat growing areas in the world whereas Karnal bunt, powdery mildew, Fusarium head blight and loose smut are of minor importance. These diseases severely affect the yield and quality of wheat grain. Till date these diseases have been contained by the use of host resistance alongwith the chemical fungicides. However, the host resistance is overcome with the evolution of new virulent pathotypes. Deployment of diverse and durable sources of resistance in breeding programmes is the most economic and effective means of reducing yield losses caused by these diseases.With an aim to identify novel sources of resistance to these pathogens, 247 Indian wheat accessions were evaluated for multiple disease resistance at six different hot spots in order to identify potentially new sources of resistance. Of the 247 accessions of wheat, 14 accessions highly resistant to stripe rust, 142 for Leaf rust and 146 for stem rustwere identified. Thirty-two accessions were found resistant to all the three rusts. Thirty accessions showed immune reaction to powdery mildew and 61 were recorded resistant. Data obtained from spot blotch experiment revealed one accession immune to spot blotch infection while two accessions were recorded resistant with 10% infection. Karnal bunt (KB) resistance (infection level

Wheat cultivation in India has been primarily dominated by the high productive environments of Indo-Gangetic plains. The North Western and North Eastern Plains are two mega environments for wheat production in the country in terms of area and production. For sustaining the high productivity levels in these areas, a constant demand of improved wheat varieties from the wheat breeding programs is desired. A high yielding bread wheat cultivar DBW187 (Karan Vandana) has been developed and released for cultivation in these areas after testing in trials under AICRP on Wheat and Barley. DBW187 is a high input responsive wheat genotype which has shown a significant yield superiority under early sown irrigated conditions of North Western Plains Zone over the checks HD2967 and HD3086 during 2018-19. Average yield of DBW187 during two years of testing was recorded to be 61.28q/ha. Earlier under evaluation in the North Eastern Plains Zone, this variety has shown an average yield of 48.8 q/ha with a potential yield of 64.7q/ha. The variety was released by Central Sub-committee on Crop Standards, Notification and Release of variety, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India vide notification No. S.O. 1498(E) dated 01.04.2019 for cultivation in the NEPZ of India and subsequently it was extended to NWPZ vide notification S.O. 98(E) dated 06.01.2020. DBW187 is having a high yield potential along with disease resistance and superior grain quality. The ability to adopt across variable growing conditions in two different zones is a huge advantage for this genotype and will also go a long way in sustaining its cultivation in the region. DOI.10.25174/2582-2675/2020/99622

GxE interaction to know adaptability of 19 salt salinity tolerant barley genotypes was studied by parametric and non-parametric measures. Genotypes KB1516, RD2907 and RD2794 showed minimum environmental variance over different environments. Superiority index identified genotypes RD2907 and NDB1445 with lowest value accompanied with higher. Wricke’s measure exhibited lower values of DWRB168, DWRB165 and NDB1445. Higher values of GAI showed consistent performance of RD2907, NDB1445 and RD2552. Non-parametric measures Si(1), Si(3) and Si(6) the considered DWRB165 and DWRB168 as desirable genotypes. Thennarasu’s first measure NPi(1) found DWRB168 and NDB1445 as desirable adaptable and KB1546, RD2907 and NDB1173 were unstable genotypes. Wricke’s parameter was positively correlated with NPi(1), NPi(3) and Kang. GAI had significant positive with Pi and Kang while negative with Si(6), NPi(2) & NPi(4). Worth to mention the negative association of Pi with Si(6), NPi(2), NPi(4). Non parametric measures Si (3) Si (6) NPi (2) & NPi (4) clubbed together while Kang, Wi 2, s2i ,Si (1),Si (2) ,NPi (1) & NPi (3) joined in another cluster. Left over parametric measures were grouped in two separate clusters i.e. (bi, S2xi ,CVi),(Yield, GAI Pi) respectively. Biplot analysis based on first two principal components showed three groups among the measures.

Multi-environment wheat trials provide valuable information on the extent of genotype x environment interaction, the stability of genotypes and define and confirm agro-ecological regions through associations among sites. The All India Coordinated Crop Improvement Project on wheat evaluates candidates for release across the wheat growing regions of India. To facilitate this process the wheat area is divided into six agro-ecological zones; the northwestern plains zone (NWPZ), the northeastern plains zone (NEPZ), the central zone (CZ), the peninsular zone (PZ), the northern hills zone (NHZ) and the southern hills zone (SHZ). Factor analytic (FA) models were used to analyze the genotype x environment interaction for yield of 813 wheat genotypes evaluated at 136 locations across the six agro-ecological zones in 1307 individual advanced variety trials between 2008/09 and 2012/13. Genotype x environment interaction was firstly assessed separately within each of the six established agro-ecological zones. Key locations with a high genetic correlation with all other locations within each zone were identified. Predicted genetic values of important cultivars that were represented in a wider range of environments within each zone were estimated and highly stable genotypes were found. Genotype x environment interaction was subsequently assessed across agro-ecological zones. Only those environments where the models accounted for > 99% of the genetic variance were retained for further analysis and two smaller zones (NHZ and SHZ) with little or no genotype congruence with other agro-ecological zones were removed. Thus 476 genotypes from 488 environments were included in the analysis. Fifteen clusters of environments with similar patterns of adaptation were found. These clusters were then characterized based on zonal classification, sowing time, irrigation regime, latitude and year and three regions broadly representing the main wheat growing areas of India were identified. These regions represent a combination of the NWPZ and NEPZ defined by latitude, a central region that combines CZ locations with northern PZ locations and a southern region comprised of southern PZ sites. Further stratification of these zones was then possible based on sowing time and irrigation practice. One cluster of 29 environments had a high average genetic correlation (r = 0.75) with most other environments and production zones. These represent key locations where larger numbers of entries might be grown in future seasons as they are the best predictors of yield across cropping zones.

DBW222 is characterized by potential yield of 8210 kg ha-1 under high fertility when sown in timely conditions in North India. It possesses better agronomic attributes and has better adaption to sowing time, high rust resistance, quality attributes, and lodging tolerance because of a shorter 2nd internode and wider diameter.

Trend in linear manner has been observed for wheat production under irrigated timely and late sown along with rainfed timely sown trials of Northern Hills Zone of country. Production elevated to the level of 53, 30 and 36q/ha for irrigated timely, late sown and rainfed timely sown trials. By the end of considered period 0.81, 0.61 and 2.06 quintal per hectare could be added in subsequent trials. Low values of R2 for irrigated timely and late sown trials suggested marginal increase in linear fashion in production values. More over consistent improvement observed in rainfed timely sown trials as justified by highly significant value of R2.

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is global concern as recent outbreaks reported in Canada, Europe, Asia, Australia and South America. The disease has emerged as one of the most important plant diseases worldwide in 21st century. One of the major threats posed by FHB fungus is the mycotoxin production which is harmful to human and animal health. Development of disease resistant cultivars is the only effective method for managing the disease. Control of these pathogen / Fusarium spp. is also challenging due to limited sources of known resistance. The famous Chinese wheat cultivar Sumai 3 and Frontana are the main sources of resistance to this disease. For genetic analysis and incorporation of FHB resistance into recently released high yielding wheat cultivars, HD 2967 and DPW 621-50, crosses were made with Sumai 3, Frontana and Aldan. The F2 plants from the crosses HD 2967/Frontana (140), HD 2967/Aldan (150), HD 2967/Sumai 3 (169) and DPW 621-50/Sumai 3 (182) were screened for resistance under controlled conditions. Disease score was recorded to identify resistant, moderately resistant and susceptible plants. The genetic ratios for resistance to FHB indicated a complex nature of resistance in all the three donors.

Predictability estimated through cross-validation approach showed moderate to high level; hence, genomic selection approach holds great potential for biofortification breeding to enhance grain zinc and iron concentrations in wheat. Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is a major staple crop, providing 20 % of dietary energy and protein consumption worldwide. It is an important source of mineral micronutrients such as zinc (Zn) and iron (Fe) for resource poor consumers. Genomic selection (GS) approaches have great potential to accelerate development of Fe- and Zn-enriched wheat. Here, we present the results of large-scale genomic and phenotypic data from the HarvestPlus Association Mapping (HPAM) panel consisting of 330 diverse wheat lines to perform genomic predictions for grain Zn (GZnC) and Fe (GFeC) concentrations, thousand-kernel weight (TKW) and days to maturity (DTM) in wheat. The HPAM lines were phenotyped in three different locations in India and Mexico in two successive crop seasons (2011–12 and 2012–13) for GZnC, GFeC, TKW and DTM. The genomic prediction models revealed that the estimated prediction abilities ranged from 0.331 to 0.694 for Zn and from 0.324 to 0.734 for Fe according to different environments, whereas prediction abilities for TKW and DTM were as high as 0.76 and 0.64, respectively, suggesting that GS holds great potential in biofortification breeding to enhance grain Zn and Fe concentrations in bread wheat germplasm.

The highly significant environments, genotypes and G×E interaction observed by AMMI analysis of 17 wheat genotypes evaluated at 8 locations in the central zone of the country. Environments(E), genotypes -environment interaction(GE) and genotypes explained 68.8%, 17.6% and 3.2% of the total sum of squares respectively. First four interaction principal components accounted 33.7%, 30.2%, 14.6% and 12.6% of the G×E interaction variation, respectively. The highest positive IPCA1 score of genotype G8 followed by G11 and G10 supported by yield higher than the grand mean 21.8q/ha. Environments E4 (Jabalpur) and E8 (Partapgarh) recorded maximum yield 32.6q/ha and 28.4q/ha while lowest yield was realized in E1 (Arnej). GGE biplot analysis under polygon view indicated that G13 was better in E6 (Sagar), whereas G1 was better in E7 (Bilaspur) and E8 (Partapgarh). The genotype G1, at the centre of concentric circles, was the ideal genotype in terms of yield performance as compared to the other genotypes. In addition, G15 and G12, located on the next consecutive concentric circle, may be regarded as desirable genotypes.

The original article was corrected. Author Muhammad Kundi should instead read: Muhammad Sohail.

To accelerate genetic gains in breeding, physiological trait (PT) characterization of candidate parents can help make more strategic crosses, increasing the probability of accumulating favorable alleles compared to crossing relatively uncharacterized lines. In this study, crosses were designed to complement “source” with “sink” traits, where at least one parent was selected for favorable expression of biomass and/or radiation use efficiency—source—and the other for sink-related traits like harvest-index, kernel weight and grains per spike. Female parents were selected from among genetic resources—including landraces and products of wide-crossing (i.e. synthetic wheat)—that had been evaluated in Mexico at high yield potential or under heat stress, while elite lines were used as males. Progeny of crosses were advanced to the F4 generation within Mexico, and F4-derived F5 and F6 generations were yield tested to populate four international nurseries, targeted to high yield environments (2nd and 3rd WYCYT) for yield potential, and heat stressed environments (2nd and 4th SATYN) for climate resilience, respectively. Each nursery was grown as multi-location yield trials. Genetic gains were achieved in both temperate and hot environments, with most new PT-derived lines expressing superior yield and biomass compared to local checks at almost all international sites. Furthermore, the tendency across all four nurseries indicated either the superiority of the best new PT lines compared with the CIMMYT elite checks, or the superiority of all new PT lines as a group compared with all checks, and in some cases, both. Results support—in a realistic breeding context—the hypothesis that yield and radiation use efficiency can be increased by improving source:sink balance, and validate the feasibility of incorporating exotic germplasm into mainstream breeding efforts to accelerate genetic gains for yield potential and climate resilience.

Small heat shock proteins (sHSP) are molecular chaperons which play a key role in protein homeostasis under stress conditions. Point mutation of aspartic acid (D) substitution for asparagine (N) at residue 11 (D11N) in HSP16.9B protein was predicted in HSP16.9B gene in wheat. However, its impact on protein function and structural consequences has not been explored. In this study, we examined the effect of point mutation using molecular modelling and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Moreover, point mutation induced addition of beta-sheet before the mutation position in the mutant protein. Three-dimensional homology protein modelling, structure validation, and molecular dynamics were carried out to investigate the conformational transitions and dynamics of the HSP16.9B protein due to D11N non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphism (nsSNP). The MD results indicated that the stability of the mutant protein structure during entire simulation runs. Altogether, our investigation will provide useful understanding related to structural and functional basis of HSP16.9.

Forty wheat varieties was evaluated for grain yield in the field for two successive crop seasons (2009–10 and 2010–11), with 2 dates of sowing, viz., early (last week of October) and late (first week of December). Based on the yield potential, five high yielding and five low yielding varieties were selected to study the relationship between grain yield and root characteristics along with canopy temperature depression (CTD) and flag leaf drying under early and late sown conditions. It was observed that under early sown restricted irrigation conditions the high yielding varieties utilized energy in increasing the root length and root density to deeper soil depths instead of accumulating root weight, compared to low yielding varieties. In contrast, under late sown condition, the high yielding varieties had more root weight and density in their upper soil depths, compared to low yielding varieties. Hence, it can be suggested to select wheat varieties with high root density and more root length in the lower depths of the soil for rainfed/restricted irrigation conditions to mitigate the early heat effects, and varieties having high root density and more root length in the upper layers of the soil for late sown conditions to tolerate the late or terminal heat. Further, high CTD scores at 1st stage (vegetative) and high leaf score at fourth stage (post flowering) were found to be important selection parameters, which help in reducing the evapo-transpiration and increase 1000 grain weight under early sown limited irrigation condition, and thereby increase the grain yield; whereas, CTD at 3rd stage (flowering stage) contribute to maintain the stay green trait for longer period and reduce the loss due to evapo-transpiration and in-turn increase the grain yield under late sown conditions. These traits can be used as selection tools for physiological breeding programme to increase the production and productivity of wheat.

Highlights • A wheat population of 287 diverse spring wheat lines were evaluated in a multilocation trial. • Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) were applied to detect significant marker- straw fodder quality trait associations. • Five genomic regions contributed for six traits (ADF, ADL, ASH, IVOMD, ME and NDF). • ADF and ADL mapped in the common QTL region on chromosome 2B. Similarly, for the IVOMD and ME, QTLs were found on chromosome 5B. • Strong genotypic variations of GY and SY do exist. The lack of any similar variations in straw fodder quality traits is intriguing and requires further research., A wheat association mapping population consisting of 287 diverse spring wheat lines were evaluated for three years in one location (Varanasi) and out of these for one year across three locations (Karnal, Dharwad and Varanasi) in India. Straw fodder quality traits analyzed were nitrogen (N) content, neutral (NDF) and acid (ADF) detergent fiber, acid detergent lignin (ADL), ash (ASH), in vitro organic matter digestibility (IVOMD) and metabolizable energy (ME) content. Grain yield (GY) and straw yield (SY) were also recorded. Highly significant (P

High temperatures are a primary concern for wheat production in South Asia. A trial was conducted to evaluate the grain yield performance of high yielding, early maturing heat tolerant CIMMYT wheat lines, developed recently in Mexico for adaptation to high temperature stresses in South Asia. The trial, comprised of 28 entries and two checks, was grown in 13 locations across South Asia and two environments in Mexico. Each location was classified by mega environment (ME); ME1 being the temperate irrigated locations with terminal high temperature stress, and ME5 as warm, tropical, irrigated locations. Grain yield (GY), thousand kernel weight (TKW), days to heading (DH) and plant height (PH) were recorded at each location. Canopy temperature (CT) was also measured at some locations. Significant differences were observed between ME for DH, PH, GY, and TKW. The cooler ME1 locations had a mean DH of 83 days, compared to 68 days mean DH in ME5. The ME1 locations had higher mean GY of 5.26 t/ha and TKW of 41.8 g compared to 3.63 t/ha and 37.4 g, respectively, for ME5. Early heading entries (

ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (AGPase), a key enzyme involved in higher plant starch biosynthesis, is composed of pairs of large (LS) and small subunits (SS). Ample evidence has shown that the AGPase catalyzes the rate limiting step in starch biosynthesis in higher plants. In this study, we compiled detailed comparative information about ADP glucose pyrophosphorylase in selected plants by analyzing their structural features e.g. amino acid content, physico-chemical properties, secondary structural features and phylogenetic classification. Functional analysis of these proteins includes identification of important 10 to 20 amino acids long motifs arise because specific residues and regions proved to be important for the biological function of a group of proteins, which are conserved in both structure and sequence during evolution. Phylogenetic analysis depicts two main clusters. Cluster I encompasses large subunits (LS) while cluster II contains small subunits (SS).

An ubiquitous molecular chaperon, small heat shock proteins (sHSP) maintain protein homeostasis under stress conditions. Single nucleotide polymorphism was predicted in HSP16.9B gene but so far its impact on protein structure has not been extensively studied. Keeping this point in mind, we applied computational methods and performed molecular dynamics simulation to examine the effect of aspartic acid substitution for asparagine at 11th position (D11N) in HSP16.9B. Furthermore, the secondary structural analysis revealed an addition of beta sheet before the mutation point in the mutant protein. Three dimensional protein structure modeling, validation of structures and molecular dynamics were performed to study the mechanism of the non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphism on structural changes. The root mean square deviation (RMSD) result showed the stability of the mutated structure throughout simulations. Moreover, root mean square fluctuation (RMSF) of atoms and Hydrogen-bond patterns further supported our results.

Heat and drought adaptive quantitative trait loci (QTL) in a spring bread wheat population resulting from the Seri/Babax cross designed to minimize confounding agronomic traits have been identified previously in trials conducted in Mexico. The same population was grown across a wide range of environments where heat and drought stress are naturally experienced including environments in Mexico, West Asia, North Africa (WANA), and South Asia regions. A molecular genetic linkage map including 475 marker loci associated to 29 linkage groups was used for QTL analysis of yield, days to heading (DH) and to maturity (DM), grain number (GM2), thousand kernel weight (TKW), plant height (PH), canopy temperature at the vegetative and grain filling stages (CTvg and CTgf), and early ground cover. A QTL for yield on chromosome 4A was confirmed across several environments, in subsets of lines with uniform allelic expression of a major phenology QTL, but not independently from PH. With terminal stress, TKW QTL was linked or pleiotropic to DH and DM. The link between phenology and TKW suggested that early maturity would favor the post-anthesis grain growth periods resulting in increased grain size and yields under terminal stress. GM2 and TKW were partially associated with markers at different positions suggesting different genetic regulation and room for improvement of both traits. Prediction accuracy of yield was improved by 5 % when using marker scores of component traits (GM2 and DH) together with yield in multiple regression. This procedure may provide accumulation of more favorable alleles during selection.

Wheat yields globally will depend increasingly on good management to conserve rainfall and new varieties that use water efficiently for grain production. Here we propose an approach for developing new varieties to make better use of deep stored water. We focus on water-limited wheat production in the summer-dominant rainfall regions of India and Australia, but the approach is generally applicable to other environments and root-based constraints. Use of stored deep water is valuable because it is more predictable than variable in-season rainfall and can be measured prior to sowing. Further, this moisture is converted into grain with twice the efficiently of in-season rainfall since it is taken up later in crop growth during the grain-filling period when the roots reach deeper layers. We propose that wheat varieties with a deeper root system, a redistribution of branch root density from the surface to depth, and with greater radial hydraulic conductivity at depth would have higher yields in rainfed systems where crops rely on deep water for grain fill. Developing selection systems for mature root system traits is challenging as there are limited high-throughput phenotyping methods for roots in the field, and there is a risk that traits selected in the lab on young plants will not translate into mature root system traits in the field. We give an example of a breeding programme that combines laboratory and field phenotyping with proof of concept evaluation of the trait at the beginning of the selection programme. This would greatly enhance confidence in a high-throughput laboratory or field screen, and avoid investment in screens without yield value. This approach requires careful selection of field sites and years that allow expression of deep roots and increased yield. It also requires careful selection and crossing of germplasm to allow comparison of root expression among genotypes that are similar for other traits, especially flowering time and disease and toxicity resistances. Such a programme with field and laboratory evaluation at the outset will speed up delivery of varieties with improved root systems for higher yield.

The abundance and inherent potential for extensive allelic variations in simple sequence repeats (SSRs) or microsatellites resulted in valuable source for genetic markers in eukaryotes. In this study, we analyzed and compared the abundance and organisation of SSR in the genome of two important fungal pathogens of wheat, brown or leaf rust (Puccinia triticina) and black or stem rust (Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici). P. triticina genome with two fold genome size as compared to P. graminis tritici has lower relative abundance and SSR density. The distribution pattern of different SSR motifs provides the evidence of greater accumulation of dinucleotide followed by trinucleotide repeats. More than two-hundred different types of repeat motifs were observed in the genomes. The longest SSR motifs varied in both genomes and some of the repeat motifs are found in higher frequency. The information about survey of relative abundance, relative density, length and frequency of different repeat motifs in Puccinia sp. will be useful for developing SSR markers that could find several applications in analysis of fungal genome such as genetic diversity, population genetics, race identification and acquisition of new virulence.

Lack of knowledge of three dimensional structures of small and large subunits of ADP- glucose pyrophosphorylase (AGPase) in wheat has hindered efforts to understand the binding specifities of substrate and catalytic mechanism. Thus, to understand the structure activity relationship, 3D structures were built by homology modelling based on crystal structure of potato tuber ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase. Selected models were refined by energy minimization and further validated by Procheck and Prosa-web analysis. Ramachandran plot showed that overall main chain and side chain parameters are favourable. Moreover, Z-score of the models from Prosa-web analysis gave the conformation that they are in the range of the template. Interaction analysis depicts the involvement of six amino acids in hydrogen bonding (AGP-SThr422-AGP-LMet138, AGP- SArg420-AGP-LGly47, AGP-SSer259-AGP-LSer306, AGP-SGlu241-AGP-LIle311, AGPSGln113- AGP-LGlu286 and AGP-SGln70-AGP-LLys291). Fifteen amino acids of small subunit were able to make hydrophobic contacts with seventeen amino acids of large subunit. Furthermore, decrease in the solvent accessible surface area in the amino acids involved in interaction were also reported. All the distances were formed in between 2.27 to 3.78Å. The present study focussed on heterodimeric structure of (AGPase). This predicted complex not only enhance our understanding of the interaction mechanism between these subunits (AGP-L and AGP-S) but also enable to further study to obtain better variants of this enzyme for the improvement of the plant yield.

Wheat is the second major staple crop, after rice, in India and Pakistan and is also gaining similar importance in Nepal and Bangladesh. Wheat production in South Asia has increased from 15 mt in 1960s to 95.5 mt during 2004–2005. It still needs to grow at the rate of 2–2.5% annually until the middle of 21st century. However, for India, recent estimations have shown a growth requirement of about 1.1%. Although the wheat improvement programs in these countries, with the active collaboration of national agricultural research centers (NARS) and CIMMYT, has made a significant progress, it is a matter of significant concern that wheat production has stagnated for last few years. Since there is little scope for increasing land area under wheat, the major challenge will be to break the yield barrier by pragmatic genetic and developmental approaches. The most serious constraints to wheat production in this region are a host of biotic and abiotic stresses. Although India has not faced any rust epidemic in the last decade, rusts continue to occupy the place of most dangerous pathogen for the region. Among the abiotic stresses, unusual warming trends during grain filling period are causing yield declines, especially in eastern and central India. There are other challenges that are specific to the highly productive rice–wheat cropping system predominant in the Indo-Gangetic plains. The total factor productivity of this system is declining due to depletion of soil organic carbon. Addition of organic matter to soil through green manuring and crop residue recycling, balanced fertilization, integrated nutrient management, diversification of rice-wheat system are some of the possible remedial measures to improve total factor productivity. The international linkages with CIMMYT needs to be strengthened more closely for developing more productive wheat genotypes and thus, achieving wheat targets in the South Asian region.

India is the second largest producer of wheat in the world, with production hovering around 68–75 million tons for past few years. The latest estimated demand for wheat production for the year 2020 is approximately 87.5 million tons, or about 13 million tons more than the record production of 75 million tons harvested in crop season 1999–2000. Since 2000, India has struggled to match that record production figure and thus faces a critical challenge in maintaining food security in the face of its growing population. The current major challenges facing future wheat production in India are increasing heat stress; dwindling water supplies for irrigation; a growing threat of new virulence of diseases such as wheat rusts (yellow, brown, and black) and leaf blight; continuous adoption of rice-wheat systems on around 11 million hectares; changes in urbanization patterns, and demand for better quality wheat. In addition, the threat posed by the new stem rust race Ug99 can not be underestimated. The wide gap (around 2.5 t/ha) between the potential and harvested yield in the eastern Gangetic Plains also cries out for solutions. Addressing issues related to different stresses will require harnessing genes discovered in landraces and wild relatives following conventional as well as non-conventional approaches. For effective technology delivery in areas that suffer from poor linkages with farmers, participatory research needs to be strengthened. The future germplasm requirements from a dependable collaborator such as CIMMYT are largely being dictated by the above factors.

There are many socioeconomic and technological constraints that affect the production of wheat and other staple cereals in South Asia. Wheat production is one of the economic mainstays in South Asia, but the yield gap between farmers’ fields and experimental yields is wide across the region. For the last 3 years, CIMMYT and the CAZS-NR have been collaborating with farmers, NARS, and other South Asian partners to promote improved wheat varieties and new resource conservation technologies (RCTs) in farmers’ fields. Participation fostered among farmers, scientists, extension specialists, NGOs and the private sector included variety selection (PVS), and evaluation of agronomic practices. Through PVS, several farmer-preferred technologies have been identified including wheat varieties for adverse conditions in eastern Uttar Pradesh (India) and for boron deficiency in parts of Nepal. There has been considerable improvement in the access of farmers to new varieties and technologies in the rural areas. Yield increases (15–70%) have been achieved by resource-poor farmers over the existing varieties through the adoption of new varieties and RCTs. The farmers have also made substantial cost savings and achieved higher yields through resource-conserving agronomic techniques such as zero till. Seed of the new farmer-selected cultivars has been multiplied by groups of collaborating farmers and widely distributed.

Many rainfed wheat production systems are reliant on stored soil water for some or all of their water inputs. Selection and breeding for root traits could result in a yield benefit; however, breeding for root traits has traditionally been avoided due to the difficulty of phenotyping mature root systems, limited understanding of root system development and function, and the strong influence of environmental conditions on the phenotype of the mature root system. This paper outlines an international field selection program for beneficial root traits at maturity using soil coring in India and Australia. In the rainfed areas of India, wheat is sown at the end of the monsoon into hot soils with a quickly receding soil water profile; in season water inputs are minimal. We hypothesised that wheat selected and bred for high yield under these conditions would have deep, vigorous root systems, allowing them to access and utilise the stored soil water at depth around anthesis and grain-filling when surface layers were dry. The Indian trials resulted in 49 lines being sent to Australia for phenotyping. These lines were ranked against 41 high yielding Australian lines. Variation was observed for deep root traits e.g. in eastern Australia in 2012, maximum depth ranged from 118.8 to 146.3 cm. There was significant variation for root traits between sites and years, however, several Indian genotypes were identified that consistently ranked highly across sites and years for deep rooting traits.

Superoxide dismutase (SOD) acts as first line of defense against oxidative and genetic stress. Manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD), found in mitochondria or peroxisomes, contains Mn(III) at the active site. Therefore, it is of interest to study MnSOD from bread wheat (a grain crop). However, a structure model is not yet solved for bread wheat MnSOD. Hence, we describe the structure model of bread wheat MnSOD developed using homology model. The model provides molecular insight to metal binding molecular function towards the understanding of oxidative stress resistance in plants. The distinction of bread wheat (a monocot) MnSOD from dicots is also shown using phylogenetic analysis.

The antioxidant system in plants is a very important defensive mechanism to overcome stress conditions. We examined the expression profile of antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) using a bioinformatics approach. We explored secondary structure prediction and made detailed studies of signature pattern of antioxidant proteins in four plant species (Triticum aestivum, Arabidopsis thaliana, Oryza sativa, and Brassica juncea). Fingerprinting analysis was done with ScanProsite, which includes a large collection of biologically meaningful signatures. Multiple sequence alignment of antioxidant proteins of the different plant species revealed a conserved secondary structure region, indicating homology at the sequence and structural levels. The secondary structure prediction showed that these proteins have maximum tendency for α helical structure. The sequence level similarities were also analyzed with a phylogenetic tree using neighbor-joining method. In the antioxidant enzymes SOD, CAT and APX, three major families of signature were predominant and common; these were PKC_PHOSPHO_SITE, CK2_PHOSPHO_SITE and N-myristoylation site, which are functionally related to various plant signaling pathways. This study provides new strategies for screening of biomodulators involved in plant stress metabolism that will be useful for designing degenerate primers or probes specific for antioxidant. These enzymes could be the first line of defence in the cellular antioxidant defence pathway, activated due to exposure to abiotic stresses.

Indian agriculture is at crossroads owing to the agrarian distress which manifests itself in various forms affecting farmers’ welfare. The present paper tracks the trend in wheat producers’ income between 2006–07 and 2013–14 followed by suggesting framework for doubling farmers’ income (DFI) by 2022. Convergence between science & technology, institutions and policy with emphasis on potential drivers like productivity enhancement through improved genotypes coupled with adoption of cost reduction technologies, diversification, irrigation, price realisation under efficient markets, terms of trade, risk adaptation, public-private partnership, skilling and land use governed by strong policies and leadership at all levels will enable an environment for DFI.

Major facilitators of water movement through plant cell membranes include aquaporin proteins. Wheat is among the largest and most important cereal crops worldwide; however, unlike other model plants such as rice, maize and Arabidopsis, little has been reported on wheat major intrinsic proteins (MIPs). This study presents a comprehensive computational identification of 349 new wheat expressed sequence tags (ESTs), encoding 13 wheat aquaporin genes. Identified aquaporins consist of 6 plasma membrane intrinsic proteins (PIP) and 1 TIP showing high sequence similarity with rice aquaporins. We also identified 4 NOD26-like intrinsic proteins (NIP) and 2 SIP members that showed more divergence. Further, expression analysis of the aquaporin genes using the available EST information in UniGene revealed their transcripts were differentially regulated in various stress- and tissue-specific libraries. Allele specific Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primers based on single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) were designed using PIP as the target gene and validated on a core set of Indian wheat genotypes. A 3D theoretical model of the wheat aquaporin protein was built by homology modeling and could prove to be useful in the further functional characterization of this protein. Collectively with expression and bioinformatics analysis, our results support the idea that the genes identified in this study signify an important genetic resource providing potential targets to modify the water use properties of wheat.