“Wheat Science to Textbooks” Workshop
CIMMYT
El Batan December 5-10, 2010
Issues in
Breeding Durum Wheat
for the
Mediterranean Region & Ethiopia
Karim Ammar
Global Wheat Program
CIMMYT-Mexico
Outline
 Durum in the world
 History of durum wheat breeding at CIMMYT
 Concept of Wide-Adaptation
■ Definition/Clarification
■ Requirements
 Breeding for “drought tolerance”
■ Historical results
■ Components
■ Relationship yield potential/drought tolerance
 Breeding for Industrial quality
■ What traits?
■ Progress made
■ Key factors for success
Durum Wheat Worldwide
Globally minor…
% Area
% Production
8%
Bread Wheat
10%
Durum Wheat
Durum Wheat Worldwide
… locally major
100%
o
or
M
o
c
c
A
lg
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
Bread Wheat
Durum Wheat
ia
er
T
is
n
u
ia
L
ia
b
y
S
ia
yr
J
da
r
o
n
It
y
al
ai
p
S
n
Durum Wheat Utilization
Pasta vs. other products
24%
76%
Bread and other Products
Pasta Products
CIMMYT Durum Germplasm: Chronology of Impact
Early successes, fall in relevance and recovery
Introduction
dwarfing
genes
1st widelyadapted semidwarfs
Era of “super
cultivars”
Continued yield progress
But loss of international
relevance due to diseases
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
JORI 69
COCORIT 71
MEXICALI 75
YAVAROS 79
ALTAR 84
ATIL C2000
2006-2010
Recovery of relevance for LR Recovery
of Yield potential
Improvement of quality
Addressing drought tolerance
Addressing Septoria and Hessian fly
Addressing Stem rust
2002-2005
2001
Re-building program
around widely effective
resistance to leaf rust
Leaf rust
virulence
in Mexico
BBG/BN
Concept of Wide-Adaptation
Definition & Clarification
 Competitive performance under a wide range of environments &
constraints:
■ It is not the creation, by design, of “mega-varieties” sown on
millions of hectares
■ It is the struggle to develop germplasm which maintain stability in
spite of environmental fluctuations and agronomic problems
 Stability in yield & quality
■ In space
■ In time in the same region
 While ensuring the maximum genetic variability
■ “Insurance policy” against emerging problems (disease, markets,
crop management)
■ Key in a climate change scenario
Breeding for Wide-Adaptation
During the crossing phase… Information = power
 Widely adapted, successful cultivars
 Performance under different water regimes
 Regional or global performance in International
Nurseries
 Disease reaction globally or in “hot spots”
 Cooperator’s information
 Widening crossing base (WxS crosses)
Breeding for Wide-Adaptation
During the segregating phase
 Expose segregating populations to as many
contrasting selection pressures or environments,
acting on highly inheritable, visually
selectable traits:
■ Diseases
■ Photoperiod
 Initially, avoid conditions that drastically limit plant
development and hamper ability to visually detect
differences:
■ Development-limiting drought
■ Development-limiting fertility stresses
Breeding for Wide-Adaptation
“Shuttle Breeding”: Key to CMMYT’s widely adapted germplasm
Summer Cycle:
Toluca/El Batan
(18.5oN, 2600 masl)
May - October.
Rainfed, High Rainfal
Diseases: Yellow Rust,
Septoria, Fusarium
Photoperiod: Decreasing
Soils: +/- acid
Obregon
Longitude: 109° 54´ W
Latitude: 27° 21´ N
Altitude: 40 masl
Winter Cycle: Obregón
(28oN, 35 masl)
November - May.
Irrigated + simulated drought
Diseases: Leaf Rust
Photoperiod: Increasing
Soils: +/- alkaline
Toluca
Longitude: 99° 33´ W
Latitude: 19° 13´ N
Altitude: 2640 masl
Breeding for Wide-Adaptation
During the Yield/quality testing phase
 Multi-environment performance testing under a wide range of conditions,
but uniform within a single environment to maximize heritability:
■ At least 1 favorable environment needs to be included to evaluation
maximum yield potential
■ Stress application needs to be uniform and reliable
■ Testing conditions need to be relevant to target area
Breeding for Wide-Adaptation
Obregon, ideal for yield potential testing
 Detect progress in genetic yield potential
without confounding effects of
environmental fluctuations:
■ Uniformity and quality of the soils
■ Good crop management
■ Weather conditions relatively regular
 Predicts well ranking performance in
many other irrigated/rainfed stations
worldwide
CIMMYT Durum Germplasm worldwide
Historical impact of for wide adaptation
Breeding for Wide-Adaptation + Drought Tolerance
Obregon, infrastructure for WUE testing
Drip Irrigation-simulated drought, 17 ha
Breeding for Wide-Adaptation + Drought Tolerance
Ensuring selection of WUE germplasm
Drip Irrigation-simulated
drought
Breeding for Wide-Adaptation + Drought Tolerance
Ensuring selection of WUE germplasm
Breeding for WUE
Relationship between yield potential and performance under stress
Grain Yield in % JUPARE
140
120
DROUGHT DRIP
100
80
60
40
y = -0.0352x + 81.765
R2 = 0.0002
r = 0.04
20
0
70
80
90
100
FULL IRRIGATION GRAVITY
336 advanced lines tested in
replicated yield trials - 2007
110
120
Breeding for WUE
Relationship between yield potential and performance under stress
Mean
Correlation betw een
Yield
Yield in
Genotypes
Full
Reduced
FULL & REDUCED
Year
Evaluated
Irrigation
Irrigation
Irrigation
2010
906
7.74
4.20
0.06
Null
2009
2008
2007
1036
1008
1118
6.36
7.82
7.04
3.05
3.62
2.38
0.36
0.58
-0.04
Moderate
Medium
Null
 The genes controlling yield under full-irrigation are different
from those determining yield under water-stress
Breeding for WUE
Relationship between yield potential and performance under stress
 The genes controlling yield under full-irrigation are different
from those determining yield under water-stress…
 Is the solution having 2 different program???
 No, as it will result in loss of wide adaptation:
■ Production of lines with high yield potential but that
will collapse under drought,
■ Production of lines that tolerate drought but do not
respond adequately when conditions improve
Breeding for WUE
Relationship between yield potential and performance under stress
Water Efficient
but Low YP
140
Grain Yield in % JUPARE
120
DROUGHT DRIP
100
80
60
40
Water Inefficient
& High YP
y = -0.0352x + 81.765
R2 = 0.0002
r = 0.04
20
0
70
80
90
100
FULL IRRIGATION GRAVITY
Water Inefficient
& Low YP
110
120
Breeding for WUE
Relationship between yield potential and performance under stress
 The genes controlling yield under full-irrigation are different
from those determining yield under water-stress…
 Combine both groups of genes in a single line!
 Selection of lines with acceptable-to-good yield
under both conditions:
■ Not easy nor cheap, but feasible
■ Duplicate evaluation resources
■ Require drought testing conditions at the same
location than full irrigation conditions
Breeding for Wide Adaptation + Drought
Combining high yield potential and WUE
Grain Yield in % JUPARE
140
120
DROUGHT DRIP
100
80
60
40
High YP
& Water Efficient
Low frequency
y = -0.0352x + 81.765
R2 = 0.0002
r = 0.04
20
0
70
80
90
100
FULL IRRIGATION GRAVITY
110
120
Breeding for Wide Adaptation + Drought Tolerance
Frequency of lines combining yield potential and WUE
Average
% of lines w ith
Yield
Good yields
Lines
Full
Reduced
under
Year
Evaluated
Irrigation
Irrigation
both Conditions
2010
906
7.74
4.20
41
2009
2008
2007
1036
1008
1118
6.36
7.82
7.04
3.05
3.62
2.38
77
50
34
 Be prepared to throw away a lot of good material
 Possible only in large program with high genetic diversity
for other traits
Breeding for Wide Adaptation + Drought Tolerance
Testing protocol currently adopted at CIMMYT
 Preliminary Yield Trials (PYT):
Full Irrigation
■ 3000-3500 Lines F6
■ Augmented design with
replicated checks
 Advanced Yield Trials-A (AYT-A):
Full irrigation + Drip-simulated drought
■ 1000-1500 Lines F7/F8
■ 2 reps (FI), 3 reps (DR) in 8x8 lattice
designs
 Advanced Yield Trials-B (AYT-B): Full
irrigation + Drip-simulated drought
■ 300-500 Lines F9
■ 3 reps (FI), 3 reps (DR) in 8x8 lattice
designs
Selections of candidates for
International Nurseries
Breeding for Improved Industrial Quality
Major Objective in a rapidly changing world market
 Less and less room for high yielding,
low quality durum grain
 No negative correlation with
functional attributes of industrial
quality
 All CIMMYT germplasm will have
acceptable to excellent quality
Breeding for which Quality?
Industrial vs. household production
INDUSTRIAL
HOUSEHOLD
Pasta Products
Worldwide
Cous-cous
North Africa, Middle East, Europe
Bulgur
CWANA
Bread Products
CWANA, Southern Europe, India?
Other Products
CWANA, India
Industrial Pasta Quality
Segment directly, proactively addressed
INDUSTRIAL
Pasta Products
(extruded, sheeted)
 Biggest volume globally
 Definitive global trend
towards industrialization
 Well known quality traits
defined by industry
 Driven by export market
HOUSEHOLD
Breeding for Industrial Quality:
Ensuring minimum acceptable levels of universally-required attributes
 Grain
Characteristics
 Yellow
Color
Visually
Colorimeter: b-value
 Gluten
Strength
Sedimentation test
 Protein Content (secondary, best
managed agronomically)
Breeding for Industrial Quality
Crossing strategy
Australian
Varieties
Some
Italian
Varieties
Best CIMMYT
Elite lines
French
Varieties
“Desert Durum”
Arizona/California
Breeding for Industrial Quality
Evaluation program
 Detailed evaluation of parental lines: Guide for crossing
■ Functional evaluation and protein type
■ At least 1 parent need to have good quality, 2 in the case of
3-way crosses
 No early generation selection
 Some 10,000+ samples analyzed starting at PYT: Any
unacceptable line is eliminated
■ Rapid and reliable tests
■ Decentralized lab in Obregon
Breeding for Industrial Quality
Gluten Strength – Progress 2005-2007
Sedimentation Volume
% Check
JUPARE C2001
> 150 %
140-150
Excelent
130-140
120-130
110-120
100-110
Aceptable
90-100
80-90
< 80%
> 90% Check
2005-06
2006-07
2474
1939
Number
Lines
30
68
205
342
667
375
503
197
87
% of
Evaluated
1.2
2.7
8.3
13.8
27.0
15.2
20.3
8.0
3.5
Number
Lines
18
45
123
306
497
465
350
94
41
% of
Evaluated
0.9
2.3
6.3
15.8
25.6
24.0
18.1
4.8
2.1
2190
89
1804
93
Breeding for Industrial Quality
Yellow Color – Progress 2005-2007
Yellow Color
+/- Check
JUPARE C2001
4-5
Excelent
3-4
2-3
1.5-2
Aceptable
1-1.5
0.5-1
0-0.5
-0.5-0
<-0.5
> +1 Check
2005-06
2006-07
2485
1939
Number
Lines
14
91
371
304
403
429
345
281
247
1183
% of
Evaluated
0.6
3.7
14.9
12.2
16.2
17.3
13.9
11.3
9.9
48
Number
Lines
34
203
511
380
372
260
114
50
15
1500
% of
Evaluated
1.8
10.5
26.4
19.6
19.2
13.4
5.9
2.6
0.8
77
Breeding for Industrial Quality
Gluten Strength – Latest progress
FULL
IRRIGATION
N=900
Number of lines
%
in class
of total
Yellow Color
> 3 colorimeter points above check: EXCELLENT
> 1 colorimeter point above check: Acceptable to excellent
less than 1 colorimeter point above the check: Non acceptable
Gluten Strength
Sedimentation volume more than 30% above check: Extra-strong
sedimentation volume more than 85% of check: Acceptable to excellent
Sedimentation volume less than 85% of check: Non acceptable
236
808
90
26.2
89.9
10.0
131
870
30
14.6
96.7
3.3
Breeding for Industrial Quality
Conclusions
 Most important traits are highly inheritable
 Starts in the choice of parents of crosses
 Early generation selection is not absolutely needed
for progress
 Fast, inexpensive and reliable test for gluten
strength and color can result in substantial
progress, fast.
 Expensive and slow analysis equipment is not
needed for practical and effective selection for
improved quality in durum wheat