Wheat

Context and Issues

Bread wheat Triticum aestivum L is the third most cultivated cereal in the world, after corn and rice. World production was estimated to 650 million tons in 2010. It is the most widely cultivated species in France, the largest producer in the EU: 36 million tons in 2008. The culture covers are about 5 million ha which gives an average yield of 72 q / ha.

Wheat yield has more than tripled over the last 45 years but has stagnated since 2000. This increase is explained by efficient cultural practices in intensive use of inputs and by improvement of varieties. Current issues of growing wheat, and thus its improvement, involve the implementation of an integrated approach. This will take into account the impacts of climate change, more simplified agricultural practices and the need to produce better and in sustainable manner, in accordance with the rules defined at the Grenelle of Environment (Ecophyto 2018).

Topics/Objectives

Study the structuration of the genetic diversity, organization of genomes and of species complexes

• Enlargement of the variability of bread wheat by interspecific hybrids between wheat and related species.
• study of structural and functional evolution of genomes A, B and D

Create innovative plant material and assess its impact in different contexts

• Co-supervising with colleagues from UMR Clermont-Ferrand and Estrées-Mons, of programs dedicated to the development of hardy, multi-resistant to diseases, of good baking quality and high yielding varieties.
• Assessment of the value of our varieties (Koreli, Barok, Folklor, Lyrik) in crop management with different input levels.
• Demonstration of the interest of these varieties in integrated management, through a significant decrease of inputs while maintaining economic margin / ha comparable to that obtained in reasoned intensive management.

Contribution of IGEPP

10 agents from INRAE are involved.

Partnership

National academic partnership

• With research units from the  Plant Biology and Breeding Division (INRAE).
  • Research Unit for Genetics, Diversity and Ecophysiology of Cereals (GDEC) in Clermont-Ferrand.
  • Research Unit for Plant Genomic (URGV) in Evry
  • Experimental Unit in Estrées-Mons.

• With research units from the Plant Health and Environment Division (INRAE).
  • Research Unit for Biology and Risk Management in Agriculture (BIOGER) in Grignon.

• With units from the Environment and Agronomy Division (INRAE).
  • Research Unit for Agronomy (UMR Agronomie) in Grignon.

International academic partnership

PURE project partners

• Rothamsted Research - RReS et James Hutton Institute - JHI (UK)
• Aarhus University - AU (DK)
• Julius Kühn Institut - JKI (DE)
• Stichting DLO - DLO et Wageningen University - WU (NL)
• National Council of Research - CNR and Foundation Edmund Mach- FEM (IT)
• Agricultural Institute of Slovenia - KIS (SLO)
• Valencian Institute of Agrarian Investigations – IVIA (ES)
• Institute of Plant Protection - IOR (PL)
• University of Debrecen - Centre of Agricultural Sciences - UDCAS (HU)
• Joint Research Centre - Institute for Prospective Technological Studies - JRC-IPTS (EU)

Private partnership

For over 30 years, collaborations have been developed with breeding institutions mostly grouped in GIS or GIE as “GIE Club5”, “CETAC” and “GIE Triticale and durum Wheat”. We are also collaborating with technical institutes as Arvalis–Plant Institute and ITAB (Technical Institute of Organic Agriculture) as well as Chambers of Agriculture on more than twenty French departments.

List of projects         

• European Union FP7 PURE 2012-2015: Pesticide Use-and-risk Reduction in European farming systems with Integrated Pest Management
• ANR 2012-2015: Characterization of the answers to polyploidy and the aneuploïdie in the angiosperms, using wheat model.
• INRA-AgriObtentions Varietal Innovations 2011-2015: Wheat HPEE – Creation of bread wheat varieties with high economic and environmental performances.
• FSOV 2010-2013: Evaluation and exploitation of wheat-rye translocations in bread wheat.
• FSOV yellow rust 2012-2015: Stability of resistance to yellow rust - complementarity between research, development and selection.
• FSOV brown rust 2012-2015: Durable resistance to wheat brown rust - production of a panel of mapped and diversified QTL.
• FSOV Weeds 2012-2015: Characterization and selection of more competitive varieties of bread wheat towards weeds.
• FSOV synthetics 2012-2015: valorization of new resistance and quality genes derived from Aegilops tauschii.
• CASDAR 2012-2015: Creation and characterization of genotypes of durum wheat introgressed from glutenins of bread wheat in order to make safe a technological top quality under limiting nitrogen fertilization.
• State-Region Plan Contract: Evaluation of varieties and lines of wheat in organic farming systems