For more information: Matthew Reynolds, Wheat Physiologist, CIMMYT (m.reynolds@cgiar.org)

Media Advisory (PDF). To arrange interviews with conference scientists, please contact: Laura Yates at +52 (55) 5804 2004 ext. 2010 or l.yates@cgiar.org

Symposium presentations

Session 1: Imperatives for raising wheat yield potential (Chair: Sahara Moon Chapotin, USAID)
While wheat constitutes a major component of the human diet worldwide, population growth, climate change, and unsustainable cropping practices threaten global food security. This session addresses issues impacting on supply and demand for wheat with emphasis on resource poor farmers in the developing world:

• Socioeconomic factors determining the supply and demand of wheat (Hans Braun, Director, Global Wheat Program, CIMMYT)
• Climate change scenarios in food insecure regions: likely impacts of heat and drought stress on wheat productivity (David Battisti, Chair of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington)
• Realizing the genetic yield potential of wheat through soil and crop management technologies based on the principles of conservation agriculture (Patrick Wall, Director, Global Conservation Agriculture Program, CIMMYT)
• New opportunities to harness photosynthesis for increasing wheat yield potential (Stephen Long, Professor Crop Sciences, University of Illinois -by video link-)
• Increasing wheat yield potential: new opportunities, challenges and bottlenecks (Richard Richards, Program Leader, CSIRO, Plant Industry)

 Food security in the developing world: imperatives for new investment. (Panel discussion)

• Wheat in Southern Cone. The contribution of private breeding (Hilda Buck, President, Bucks Seeds, Argentina)
• Wheat production and research in Iran (Abdolali Ghaffari Director General, DARI, Iran)
• Wheat production and food security in China (Zhonghu He, representing Dr. Huqu Zhai, President of CAAS, China)
• Wheat & food security in South Asia (Arun K. Joshi representing K.V. Prabhu, Head of Genetics Division, IARI, India)
• Wheat Wide Crosses (A Mujeeb Kazi, NARC, Pakistan)
• Egyptian wheat improvement program (Mousa Mosaad, National Wheat Coordinator, Egypt)
• Raising genetic potential of wheat: investment strategies (Rollin Sears, Syngenta)
• Monsanto’s plans and prospects for wheat Improvement through breeding and biotechnology (Joseph Shapiro, Monsanto)

Session 2: Improving crop photosynthesis (Chair, Ron Phillips)

Basic research in photosynthesis has confirmed that substantial improvements in radiation use efficiency are theoretically possible. Ideas for how to achieve this in wheat (based partially on outcomes of a recent ANU-CIMMYT-ACIAR workshop in Canberra) will be presented:

• Models of improved crop photosynthesis (Xinguang Zhu, Chinese Academy of Sciences)
• Improving photosynthesis at the canopy level (Erik Murchie, Nottingham University)
• Strategies for concentrating CO2 to improve RUE (Bob Furbank, CSIRO)
• Genetic engineering of Rubisco, Rubisco Activase and RuBP regeneration (MAJ Parry, Rothamsted Research)
• Introducing C4 photosynthesis into to C3 crops (Bob Furbank, CSIRO)
• Intergeneric Crosses as a Means for Gene Transfer (Ronald L. Phillips )

Session 3: Optimizing adaptation, yield & lodging resistance (Chair Tony Fischer)

To ensure that genetic gains in radiation use efficiency show impact at the agronomic level, other physiological traits must be optimized simultaneously including partitioning of assimilates to grain growth, adaptation –especially of reproductive growth- to distinct agro ecosystems, and stem and root characteristics that minimize risk of canopy structural failure:

• Optimizing developmental pattern to maximize spike fertility (Gustavo Slafer, Univ Llerida)
• Maximizing grain number and harvest index (John Foulkes, Nottingham University)
• Manipulating stress signaling to enhance grain production (Bill Davies, Lancaster Univ)
• Designing lodging proof wheat for higher yield potential (Pete Berry, ADAS, UK)
• Modeling tradeoffs between yield & lodging (Roger Sylvester-Bradley, ADAS, UK)

Session 4: Combining complementary traits through breeding (Chair: Calvin Qualset)

Genetic solutions must be developed to incorporate novel yield potential traits into a new generation of breeding lines that also encompass stock-in-trade agronomic traits.

• Exploration of wheat genetic diversity (Tom Payne, Head of Gene Bank, CIMMYT)
• Wide crossing with alien species (Ian King, Aberystwyth University)
• Gene discovery & marker assisted selection (Diane Mather and Simon Griffiths, ACPFG, Australia & John Innes Centre, UK)
• Genome wide screening (Jose Crossa, CIMMYT)
• Trait based breeding to accumulate yield potential traits (Matthew Reynolds, CIMMYT &  Tony Condon, CSIRO)
• Modeling breeding decisions (Scott Chapman, CSIRO and David Bonnett, CIMMYT)
• Integration into a practical breeding platform(Bill Angus, Nickerson, UK Ltd)