Argentina is the top wheat producer in South America and achieved record wheat yields in 2018. Unfortunately, wheat grain quality has declined with increasing yields. To address the trade-off between wheat grain quality and yield, this N8 AgriFood project is currently phenotyping yield, grain quality, physiological performance and stress tolerance across a novel global wheat diversity set under a common field environment in Argentina. The team will identify molecular markers linked to this phenotypic diversity, with an aim to identify new genetic variation of value to breeders in the development of novel wheat varieties with higher yields and grain quality.
This collaborative project involves Prof. Martin Parry, Dr Elizabete Carmo-Silva, and Dr Marjorie Lundgren from Lancaster University; Dr Miguel de Lucas, Dr Jennifer Topping, Dr Mokhles Shaherli, and Prof. Keith Lindsey from Durham University; and Dr Daniel Miralles, Dr Alvarez Prado Santiago, and Dr Gabriela Abeledo from the University of Buenos Aires.