Breeding progress in wheat: Simultaneous improvement of disease resistance, yield and product quality

Abstract

Wheat breeding has achieved impressive successes in Germany in recent decades. In the future, it will however face considerable challenges in enabling the production of high-quality food under conditions of sustainable production. The improvement of genetic yield potential has made a significant contribution to the increase in grain yields. Further increase seems possible, but the future focus should be to enhance yield stability. Improving disease resistance to fungal pathogens, viruses, and increasingly to insect pests remains a permanent task that will gain central importance due to reduced release of pesticide substances. A significant increase in research efforts will be necessary to improve yield stability against abiotic stresses, mainly drought and heat. Moreover, an increase in nutrient efficiency will be a prerequisite for an environment-friendly resource consumption, while high grain quality has to be maintained. The study stresses the potential of the new breeding techniques, such as genome editing, to integrate all these demands through breeding and suggests searching for a balance between risk prevention and innovation.