Climate Change and Food Security with Emphasis on Wheat

Munir Ozturk, Alvina Gul

• Publisher: Academic Press
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9780128195277
• eBook ISBN: 9780128195673
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Environmental Science
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Climate Change and Food Security with Emphasis on Wheat is the first book to present the full scope of research in wheat improvement, revealing the correlations to global issues including climate change and global warming which contribute to food security issues. Wheat plays a key role in the health of the global economy. As the world population continuously increases, economies modernize, and incomes rise, wheat production will have to increase dramatically to secure it as a reliable and sustainable food source. Since covering more land area with wheat crops is not a sustainable option, future wheat crops must have consistently higher yields and be able to resist and/or tolerate biotic and abiotic stresses that result from climate change.Addressing the biophysical and socioeconomic constraints of producing high-yielding, disease-resistant, and good quality wheat, this book will aid in research efforts to increase and stabilize wheat production worldwide.Written by an international team of experts, Climate Change and Food Security with Emphasis on Wheat is an excellent resource for academics, researchers, and students interested in wheat and grain research, especially as it is relevant to food security.- Covers a wide range of disciplines, including plant breeding, genetics, agronomy, physiology, pathology, quantitative genetics and genomics, biotechnology and gene editing- Explores the effect of climate change on biotic stresses (stripe rust, stem rust, leaf rust, Karnal bunt, spot blotch) on wheat production and utilization of biotechnology- Focuses on whole genome sequencing and next-generation sequencing technologies to improve wheat quality and address the issue of malnutrition in developing world

Chapter 1

Better farming practices to combat climate change

Ioannis Mylonas ¹ , Dimitris Stavrakoudis ^{1 , 2} , Dimitris Katsantonis ¹ , and Evangelos Korpetis ^{1 1} Hellenic Agricultural Organization–DEMETER, Institute of Plant Breeding and Genetic Resources, Thermi-Thessaloniki, Greece ² Laboratory of Forest Management and Remote Sensing, School of Forestry and Environment, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece

Abstract

The intensification of the conventional farming systems has led to extensive usage of agricultural machinery, high-demanding varieties, and agrochemicals, resulting in negative environmental impacts such as groundwater pollution and atmospheric contamination that exacerbates the greenhouse effect. The environmental pressure has adverse effects not only on human health and natural resources but also on the sustainability of agricultural production itself. The cultivation of adaptable varieties (AVs) is an effective and low-cost agronomic practice for sustainable wheat production under current and climate change scenarios. AVs are bred broadening the genetic base of wheat, using selected wild relatives and landraces that are tolerant to abiotic and biotic stresses, and have a sorter biological circle and responsiveness to low inputs. Precision agriculture (PA) is another efficient way to mitigate the impacts of climate change (even the exogenous ones), protect natural resources, and increase food security. PA is a whole-farm management approach that employs information technology, specialized machinery, and remotely sensed or proximal data, to reduce the inputs but secure production at the same time. This chapter analyzes several such management practices for sustainable cereals production with care to the environment and humans during the climatic changes' era, including AVs cultivation, PA, agronomic practices as management of sowing date, crop rotation including legumes, mycorrhizal fungi, fertilization for sustainable agriculture, low or conservation tillage practices, diseases and pests forecasting systems, GPS-driven practices, and variable rate technologies.

Keywords

Adaptable varieties; Agronomic practice; Crop rotation; Diseases and pests forecasting systems; Fertilization; Genetic diversity; Precision agriculture; Remote sensing; Sowing date; Variable rate technology (VRT)

1. 1. Introduction
2. 2. Release of new varieties
   1. 2.1 Adaptation for high temperature
   2. 2.2 Adaptation for drought
3. 3. Agronomic practices
   1. 3.1 Fertilization
      1. 3.1.1 Nitrogen
      2. 3.1.2 Phosphorus
      3. 3.1.3 Potassium
      4. 3.1.4 Microelements
   2. 3.2 Conservation agriculture
4. 4. Diseases, insect pests, and weeds concerning to climate change and crop management practices
   1. 4.1 Pathogen and wheat diseases
      1. 4.1.1 The wheat rusts
      2. 4.1.2 Wheat powdery mildew
      3. 4.1.3 The blotch diseases
      4. 4.1.4 Fusarium head blight
      5. 4.1.5 Wheat bunt
      6. 4.1.6 Insect pests
      7. 4.1.7 Weeds
   2. 4.2 Management practices for pathogen and wheat diseases to mitigate climate change
      1. 4.2.1 Diseases
      2. 4.2.2 Insect pests
      3. 4.2.3 Weeds
5. 5. Precision agriculture
   1. 5.1 Precision agriculture in cereals
   2. 5.2 Precision N fertilization
   3. 5.3 Biotic and abiotic stress monitoring and management
   4. 5.4 Smart irrigation
6. 6. Future perspectives
7. References

1. Introduction

Global wheat production faces significant challenges given the projected need to increase world wheat supply by about 70% until 2050 (CIMMYT, 2014), while there are restrictions for the expansion of crop-growing areas and limited available natural resources (Reynolds et al., 2011). Also, global warming is associated with increasing temperature and incidences of drought putting food security at risk (Lobell et al., 2013). An increased frequency of extreme weather events causing significant yield constraints is recorded (Semenov and Shewry, 2011), highlighting the future challenge to secure wheat productivity under the upcoming climatic and environmental variations (Porter and Semenov, 2005). It is imperative to provide solutions that can acclimatize wheat cultivation to the adverse effects of environmental conditions displaying at the same time superior yield. Therefore, a holistic approach is necessary to bring together genetic improvement, crop management, capacity building, and knowledge (Ortiz et al., 2008). The current work aims to identify different farming practices that provide the potential to cope with these changes and provide low-cost and effective solutions to ensure sustainable wheat production under current and future climate change scenarios. This chapter analyzes adaptable varieties cultivation, precision agriculture (PA), agronomic practices for sustainable agriculture, diseases and pests forecasting systems, GPS-driven practices, and variable rate technologies.

2. Release of new varieties

New wheat cultivars are needed to adapt the crop to changing environments and meet the nutritional needs of people, particularly those in the developing world, where farmers increasingly adopt resource-conserving practices (Ortiz et al., 2008). Thus, genetic improvement is of paramount importance to ensure wheat productivity aiming at breed cultivars adapted to extreme environmental conditions displaying at the same time higher yield. Traditionally, the most important goal for wheat breeding, as one of the world's staple crops, is high and stable yield (Semenov et al., 2014). Wheat is a cool season crop, and thus, its productivity is sensitive to the increase of temperature and drought that causes major yield constraints (Ni et al., 2018). Currently, apart from the increase of yield potential, important priority for the wheat genetic improvement is the achievement of adaptability under adverse climatic conditions. Heat and drought stress are the major abiotic factors causing severe yield reductions, and it is expected that they will frequently occur in the future (Semenov et al., 2014).

In this framework, an essential aspect regarding the management of the available germplasm that should be taken into account is the concern for broadening the base of genetic resources and the use of alternative resources of genetic variability (landraces, old cultivars, crop wild relatives [CWRs]). During the previous decades, the intense selection pressure applied through genetic improvement to achieve varieties with high yielding potential caused erosion to the available genetic resources (Ren et al., 2013). The extensive use of modern high yielding varieties contributed in the gradual replacement of traditional varieties from cultivation and eventually, their genetic erosion (Akhalkatsi et al., 2010; Friis-Hansen, 1999).

A large number of local population-varieties of bread wheat, which are cultivated in the past and contributed decisively to the agricultural production and nutrition of the population, are lost (Lopes et al., 2015). As a consequence of this genetic narrowing, the allelic plasticity is reduced and has guide to a germplasm less adaptable to new environmental stresses, diseases, and pests and thus limited the genetic diversity that breeders may exploit and use (Makai et al., 2016; Tanksley and McCouch, 1997).

Therefore, studying and exploiting the genetic variability of landraces can be an alternative and viable solution for agriculture (Newton et al., 2010; Zeven, 1998). Landraces were long-term cultivated in low-input agricultural systems and were subjected to genetic change, selected for agronomic traits and their adaptability to environmental biotic and abiotic changes (Newton et al., 2010; Zeven, 1998).

Thus, they compose a valuable gene pool for adaptability to biotic and abiotic stresses, good productivity i...

Table of contents

• Cover image
• Title page
• Table of Contents
• Copyright
• Contributors
• Foreword
• Preface
• Chapter 1. Better farming practices to combat climate change
• Chapter 2. Ensuring sustainable food security: exploiting alien genetic diversity in wheat breeding for adaptation to emerging stresses
• Chapter 3. Assessing climate change impacts on wheat production in Turkey and various adaptation strategies
• Chapter 4. Cellular mechanism of salinity tolerance in wheat
• Chapter 5. Salt-regulating genes in wheat
• Chapter 6. Role of osmoprotectants in salinity tolerance in wheat
• Chapter 7. Salt responsive transcription factors in wheat
• Chapter 8. Molecular mechanism of drought tolerance in wheat
• Chapter 9. Cellular mechanisms of drought tolerance in wheat
• Chapter 10. Drought-responsive ESTs in wheat
• Chapter 11. Role of transcription factors in drought mediating pathways in wheat
• Chapter 12. LEA proteins and drought stress in wheat
• Chapter 13. Role of osmoprotectants and drought tolerance in wheat
• Chapter 14. Spot blotch in bread wheat: virulence, resistance, and breeding perspectives
• Chapter 15. Karnal bunt (Tilletia indica) in wheat
• Chapter 16. Wheat–Thinopyrum intermedium introgression lines enhancing wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV) resistance
• Chapter 17. Climate change leading to postharvest losses in bread wheat
• Chapter 18. Investigation of the effects of environmental stresses on the development and yield of wheat seedlings with physiological and biochemical parameters and some gene expressions
• Chapter 19. Potentially toxic trace elements in wheat and their effects on the plant development and concentration of essential nutrients
• Chapter 20. Transfer of the wheat heritage of anatolia to future generations
• Chapter 21. Overview of the prospective strategies for conservation of genomic diversity in wheat landraces
• Chapter 22. Next-generation sequencing in bread wheat
• Chapter 23. Genomic selection in wheat breeding
• Chapter 24. Wheat genomics and genome editing
• Chapter 25. The economic aspects of climate risks and food insecurity
• Index