Strategic Research to Enhance the Yield Potential Through Redesigning of Wheat Plant Architecture

Abstract

In India wheat is the second most important crop occupying 27.3 million hectare area with production and productivity of 72 million tons and 2.64 tons per hectare, respectively. To cope up the ever increasing demand which will be 109 million tons by the year 2020, the present level of productivity has to be increased to 4.4 tons per hectare. The only approach for achieving quantum jump in productivity is to restructure the wheat plant architecture which can yield up to 8 tons/hectare. The Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India has developed new plant type (NPT) wheat, utilizing a local germplasm SFW and released wheat and genetic stocks, which has high 1000 grain weight (45–50g), high number of grain per spike (90–100), higher biomass, thick, broad, semi erect and dark green leaves, thick stem, plant height 85–100 cm and good root system. Efforts are on to increase the productive tillers in these wheats along with diverse genes for resistance to diseases in order to break the yield barrier