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IMAGE: Covering used to increase night-time temperatures and study wheat s tolerance mechanisms; key to overcoming climate change challenges to wheat production. view more
Credit: Photo: Kevin Pixley/CIMMYT, CIMMYT Centro Experimental Norman E. Borlaug, Ciudad Obregon, Mexico.
April 29, 2021. The John Innes Centre (JIC, UK) and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) two world class wheat research institutes have announced a strategic collaboration for joint research, knowledge sharing, and communications to further the global effort to develop the future of wheat.
Wheat, a cornerstone of the human diet that provides 20 percent of all calories and protein consumed worldwide, is threatened by climate change-related drought and heat as well as increased frequency and spread of pest and disease outbreaks. The new collaboration, building on a history of successful joint research achievements, aims to harness state of the art technology to
P.J. Griekspoor
WHEAT RESEARCH: Hotter and drier weather threatens global wheat supplies. A $5 million grant from the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research will help the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center to develop climate-resilient wheat and help reduce losses from heat and drought like the damage shown here. Wheat is a mainstay of the human diet; climate change threatens supplies.
Jan 21, 2021
Wheat constitutes 20% of all calories and protein consumed, making it a cornerstone of the human diet, according to the United Nations. However, hotter and drier weather, driven by a changing climate, threatens the global wheat supply.
To address this threat, the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research awarded a $5 million grant to the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center to develop climate-resilient wheat. The center leads global research programs on maize and wheat, sustainable crop systems and policies to improve farme
Durum wheat drought tolerance trials in Ciudad Obregon, Mexico, 2017. (Photo: Alfonso Cortés/CIMMYT)
Wheat constitutes 20% of all calories and protein consumed, making it a cornerstone of the human diet, according to the United Nations. However, hotter and drier weather, driven by a changing climate, threatens the global wheat supply. To address this threat, the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) awarded a $5 million grant to the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) to develop climate-resilient wheat. CIMMYT leads global research programs on maize and wheat, sustainable cropping systems and policies to improve farmers’ livelihoods. These activities have driven major gains in wheat variety improvement across the globe for decades; in the US alone, for example, over 50% of the wheat acreage is sown with CIMMYT-related varieties.