Stem traits promote wheat climate-resilience.

Introduction: Wheat grain filling processes under post-anthesis stress scenarios depend mainly on stem traits and remobilization of stem water-soluble carbohydrates (WSC).

Methods: A diverse panel of advanced semi-dwarf spring wheat lines, representing a natural variation in stem traits (WSC content, stem diameter, peduncle length, and stem wall width), was used to identify specific traits that reliably reflect the relationship between WSC and grain yield. The panel was phenotyped under various environmental conditions: well-watered, water-limited, and heat stress in Mexico, and terminal-drought in Israel.

New flavors from old wheats: exploring the aroma profiles and sensory attributes of local Mediterranean wheat landraces.

Introduction: During the 20th century, the worldwide genetic diversity of wheat was sharply eroded by continual selection for high yields and industry demands for particular standardized qualities. A collection of Israeli and Palestinian landraces (IPLR) was established to represent genetic diversity, accumulated for ten millennia under diverse environments, which was mostly lost in this transition. As our long-term goal is to study this pre- Green Revolution genetic reservoir, herein we focus on its flour and bread quality and sensorial attributes.

Use of thermal imaging and the photochemical reflectance index (PRI) to detect wheat response to elevated CO and drought.

The spectral-based photochemical reflectance index (PRI) and leaf surface temperature (T ) derived from thermal imaging are two indicative metrics of plant functioning. The relationship of PRI with radiation-use efficiency (RUE) and T with leaf transpiration could be leveraged to monitor crop photosynthesis and water use from space. Yet, it is unclear how such relationships will change under future high carbon dioxide concentrations ([CO ]) and drought.

Early or late? The role of genotype phenology in determining wheat response to drought under future high atmospheric CO levels.

The combination of a future rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration ([CO ]) and drought will significantly impact wheat production and quality. Genotype phenology is likely to play an essential role in such an effect. Yet, its response to elevated [CO ] and drought has not been studied before.

Six decades of warming and drought in the world's top wheat-producing countries offset the benefits of rising CO to yield.

Future atmospheric carbon-dioxide concentration ([CO]) rise is expected to increase the grain yield of C3 crops like wheat even higher under drought. This expectation is based on small-scale experiments and model simulations based on such observations. However, this combined effect has never been confirmed through actual observations at the nationwide or regional scale.

In-Field Comparative Study of Landraces vs. Modern Wheat Genotypes under a Mediterranean Climate.

The Near East climate ranges from arid to a Mediterranean, under which local wheat landraces have been grown for over millennia, assumingly accumulating a unique repertoire of genetic adaptations. In the current study, we subjected a subset of the Israeli Palestinian Landraces (IPLR) collection ( = 19: durum and bread wheat landraces, modern wheat cultivars, and landraces mixtures) to full-field evaluation. The multifield experiment included a semiarid site (2018-2019, 2019-2020) under low (L) and high (H) supplementary irrigation, and a Mediterranean site (2019-2020).

Assessing adaptive requirements and breeding potential of spelt under Mediterranean environment.

The rising demand for spelt wheat (Triticum aestivum ssp. spelta) as a high-value grain crop has raised interest in its introduction into non-traditional spelt growing areas. This study aimed to assess adaptive constrains of spelt under short Mediterranean season.

The Israeli-Palestinian wheat landraces collection: restoration and characterization of lost genetic diversity.

Background: For over a century, genetic diversity of wheat worldwide was eroded by continual selection for high yields and industrial demands. Wheat landraces cultivated in Israel and Palestine demonstrate high genetic diversity and a potentially wide repertoire of adaptive alleles. While most Israeli-Palestinian wheat landraces were lost in the transition to 'Green Revolution' semi-dwarf varieties, some germplasm collections made at the beginning of the 20th century survived in gene banks and private collections worldwide.

Mapping quantitative trait loci in chickpea associated with time to flowering and resistance to Didymella rabiei the causal agent of Ascochyta blight.

Drought is the major constraint to chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) productivity worldwide. Utilizing early-flowering genotypes and advancing sowing from spring to autumn have been suggested as strategies for drought avoidance.