User: Secan, Producteurs de grain du Québec
Climate change poses a serious threat to wheat, Québec third largest crop. Since 2020, spring wheat yields have fluctuated by 39% (or 1.5 tonnes/ha), with an average yield reaching its maximum in 2022 (3.79 tonnes/ha) and its minimum in 2020 (2.31 tonnes/ha). While it may be impossible to control climate and the weather, we are able to improve wheat genetics to help the crop better tolerate adverse conditions.
One approach to making wheat more tolerant to stress involves improving its genetic material. This project aims to increase the genetic variability of Québec wheat in order to develop widely adapted, high-yielding, high-quality end-use wheat genotypes that are resistant to the main biotic (diseases and insects) and abiotic (drought and high temperature) stresses. Our project will involve collaboration with Moroccan researchers, who have been successful in providing more heat- and drought-tolerant wheat cultivars in Africa and Asia. By comparing wheat from Québec with wheat from Morocco, we intend to identify regions of the genome linked to better climate resilience and yield stability. The ultimate goal is to develop wheat lines with reliable and superior yields for Québec producers.