Towards higher yielding, more water

efficient crops – elements of success

Richard Richards

CSIRO Plant Industry,

Canberra

CSIRO

CSIRO - High Performance Crops for Australia

Better plants for acid soils

Improved salt tolerance

Molecular and physiological germplasm enhancement for dry environments

Wheat varieties for the HRZ

Chromosome engineering in wheat

CSIRO

HRZ – Regions and cereal products

CSIRO

Disease pressure in the HRZ

Bdv2

BYDV

Lr19+

Leaf rust

CSIRO

Chromosome engineering in wheat

Thinopyrum

intermediumThinopyrum

ponticum

7DThinopyrum

intermedium

☺Bdv2 resistance

☺yield boost gene

Thinopyrum

ponticum

☺ Lr19 rust resistance

☺ Sr25 rust resistance

☺ Yield boost gene

� Very yellow flour

Bdv2

BYDV

Lr19+

Leaf rust

CSIRO

Drysdale and Rees

10% yield increase

Australian Hard quality

High Yield

High water use efficiency

Rust resistance

Broad spectrum disease

resistance

05/06 10 fold increase in area sown to DrysdaleLow WUE High WUE

13C 13C12C12C

New selection technologies to improve

water-use efficiency

CSIRO

New selection technologies to improve

water-use efficiency

Improved crop establishment

Currentcultivars

Wasteful tillers

Current cultivars + tin

Fewer wasteful tillersLarger earsLarger grains

Greater shoot and root vigour

Molecular markers

underpin each of

these traits

(UA, GRDC, Breedco’s)

CSIRO

Rht4Rht5

Rht12

Rht1

Rht2

Rht13

tin

TE

Markers for genes contributing to water

use efficiency and yield

root

length

Major gene QTL Abiotic Grain quality Biotic

vigour

coleoptile

CSIRO

Gene and trait discovery to improve salt

tolerance

Two new genes for salt tolerance discovered

Nax1(chromosome 2AL)

Nax2(chomosome 5A)

Both Nax genes are putative

cation transporters:

HKT7 and HKT8 family

T. monococcum donated

Nax genes to landrace

tetraploid

(ACPFG, UA, NSW Ag, GRDC)

CSIRO

Acid soil tolerance in cereals

Single dominant locus confers Al tolerance

Identified and cloned ALMT1

Carazinho tolerance gene in an Egret background

(Okayama Univ, USDA Cornell,

NSW Agriculture)

CSIRO

Soil Biology and improved crop

performance

Challenges

• nutrient

acquisition

• allelopathy

• acid soil

tolerance

• disease

control

Root exudates for:

CSIRO

Designing crops for future environments

and cropping systems

• High rainfall zone cropping

• Crops responsive to changes in climate

Conservation farming systems (stubble retention, direct drilling)

CSIRO

Towards a new yield potential in cereals

District AverageDistrict AverageDistrict AverageDistrict Average

Grain Yield (t ha-1)

In season rainfall (mm)

8

6

4

2

0

50 200100 150 250 300 400350

Current PotentialCurrent PotentialCurrent PotentialCurrent Potential

New PotentialNew PotentialNew PotentialNew Potential

CSIRO

More drought resistance or more crop per drop?

Water productivity

CSIRO

Yield of winter cereals in water-limited

environments

Harvest

Index

xWater-use

Efficiency

xWater

Use

=Grain

Yield

Biomass

(Passioura identity)

CSIRO

But first ……..

• For breeding, patch up other limitations eg:

• Foliar diseases

• Root diseases

• Abiotic limitations such as B, Al

• And get flowering time right

CSIRO

Extended crop duration in wheat

• Advantages in dry environments

• Water-use efficiency can increase by

a factor of 2

• Evaporation from the soil surface is

reduced (more water use by crop)

• early growth is fast because soil and

air temperatures are warmer

• longer duration for root growth

Yield increase (%) with 14 days earlier

sowing

80

90

100

110

120

130

CU87

237

mm

CU88

WH87

CO88

NO88

N87

WH88

NO87

328

mm

Trial sites

Anderson et al

CSIRO

Towards a new yield potential

Reduce water loss from soil surface

Rainfall (mm)

50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400

Grain Yield (t ha-1)

0

2

4

6

8

Current Potential

District average

New Potential

CSIRO

Longer coleoptiles to improve crop

establishment

Often 50% of potential yield is lost due to

evaporation of moisture from the soil surface.

CSIRO

More vigorous early growth

JanzVig 18

CSIRO

High vigour wheats for greater weed competitivenessGrain yield (t/ha)

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

C03 E20 D29 Janz(cv)

Galleon(Barley)

-oats

+oats

Mean grain yield over 3 years with and without weeds

Approximately 3,500 BC and TC high early vigour, semidwarf selections for

evaluation at Roseworthy SA in 2006

CSIRO

Selection for above-ground vigour

CSIRO

Reduction of later formed tillers

Currentcultivars

Wasteful tillers

Current cultivars + tin

Fewer wasteful tillersLarger earsLarger grains

Current cultivars typically produce twice as many tillers as survive.

CSIRO

Shoot traits for an increased rooting zone:

reduced tillering

Days after sowing

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

Banks ++

Banks +

Banks -

Kite +

Kite -

m.m

-2

Root

length

Closed symbols

Open symbols

CSIRO

Do they correlate with field grown roots?

CSIRO

Towards a new yield potential

Increase transpiration efficiency

Rainfall (mm)

50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400

Grain Yield (t ha-1)

0

2

4

6

8

Current Potential

District average

New Potential

CSIRO

We must develop more water-efficient

crops – changing the biochemistry

CSIRO

CSIRO

New selection method for water-use

efficiency - changing the biochemistry

High

Water-use efficiency

Low

Water-use efficiency

Outside leaf

Inside leaf

CSIRO

CSIRO

New water-efficient wheat cultivars

Features

� Australian Hard quality

� High Yield

� High water use efficiency

� Triple Rust resistance

� Broad spectrum disease

resistance

2002, 2003 Release (AWB Seeds)

Drysdale and Rees:

Wheat cultivars selected for dry conditions

10% yield increase Drysdale

Developed using a new

isotope selection method

CSIRO

Grain yield advantage of low 12C/13C

selected lines

Environment mean yield (t.ha-1)

0 2 4 6 8

Grain yield advantage (%)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Selection for

low 12C/13C

CSIRO

Chromosome locations/regions for genes contributing

to greater 12C/13C discrimination (Cranbrook/Halberd)

2002 2003 early 20042003 late

► 41 to 82% genetic variance accounted for in each environment

CSIRO

Towards a new yield potential in cereals

District AverageDistrict AverageDistrict AverageDistrict Average

Grain Yield (t ha-1)

In season rainfall (mm)

8

6

4

2

0

50 200100 150 250 300 400350

Current PotentialCurrent PotentialCurrent PotentialCurrent Potential

New PotentialNew PotentialNew PotentialNew Potential

CSIRO

Priorities for winter cereal improvement in a

water-limited environment

• Make use of full growing season

• Reduce evaporation of precious rainfall from soil surface

• Increase water use efficiency

• Increase C allocation to grain

• Increase rooting depth (for better years)

CSIRO

Conclusions

•Passion

•Focus

•Collaboration

•Reality checks

•Serendipity

- the elements of success

CSIRO

Acknowledgements:

Graham Farquhar

Tony Condon

Greg Rebetzke

Michelle Watt

Wolfgang Spielmeyer

Marc Ellis

David Bonnett

Peter Ryan

Manny Delhaize

Phil Larkin

Rana Munns