Agroecological Advantages of Early-Sown Winter Wheat in Semi-Arid Environments: A Comparative Case Study From Southern Australia and Pacific Northwest United States
| Autor: | James R. Hunt, William F. Schillinger, Kenton Porker, Felicity A. J. Harris, David J. Cann |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2019 |
| Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
Mediterranean climate yield gap Review drought adaptation Plant Science lcsh:Plant culture 01 natural sciences Crop vernalization deep sowing Temperate climate lcsh:SB1-1110 Biomass (ecology) Yield gap 04 agricultural and veterinary sciences Vernalization Arid winter wheat climate change Geography Agronomy 040103 agronomy & agriculture 0401 agriculture forestry and fisheries Cropping 010606 plant biology & botany |
| Zdroj: | Frontiers in Plant Science, Vol 11 (2020) Frontiers in Plant Science |
| ISSN: | 1664-462X |
| Popis: | Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is the most widely-grown crop in the Mediterranean semi-arid (150–400 mm) cropping zones of both southern Australia and the inland Pacific Northwest (PNW) of the United States of America (United States). Low precipitation, low winter temperatures and heat and drought conditions during late spring and summer limit wheat yields in both regions. Due to rising temperatures, reduced autumn rainfall and increased frost risk in southern Australia since 1990, cropping conditions in these two environments have grown increasingly similar. This presents the opportunity for southern Australian growers to learn from the experiences of their PNW counterparts. Wheat cultivars with an obligate vernalization requirement (winter wheat), are an integral part of semi-arid PNW cropping systems, but in Australia are most frequently grown in cool or cold temperate cropping zones that receive high rainfall (>500 mm p.a.). It has recently been shown that early-sown winter wheat cultivars can increase water-limited potential yield in semi-arid southern Australia, in the face of decreasing autumn rainfall. Despite this research, there has to date been little breeding effort invested in winter wheat for growers in semi-arid southern Australia, and agronomic research into the management of early-sown winter wheat has only occurred in recent years. This paper explores the current and emerging environmental constraints of cropping in semi-arid southern Australia and, using the genotype × management strategies developed over 120 years of winter wheat agronomy in the PNW, highlights the potential advantages early-sown winter wheat offers growers in low-rainfall environments. The increased biomass, stable flowering time and late-summer establishment opportunities offered by winter wheat genotypes ensure they achieve higher yields in the PNW compared to later-sown spring wheat. Traits that make winter wheat advantageous in the PNW may also contribute to increased yield when grown in semi-arid southern Australia. This paper investigates which specific traits present in winter wheat genotypes give them an advantage in semi-arid cropping environments, which management practices best exploit this advantage, and what potential improvements can be made to cultivars for semi-arid southern Australia based on the history of winter wheat crop growth in the semi-arid Pacific Northwest. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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