Wheat Ecology and Physiology of Yield Determination

•  Contributors
• Preface
• Part One: Wheat Physiology
• Chapter 1. An Introduction to the Physiological-Ecological Analysis of Wheat Yield
• Worldwide Importance of Wheat
• A Niche for This Book
• Objectives
• Chapter 2. Wheat Development
• Introduction
•  Dynamics of Initiation and Appearance of Vegetative and Reproductive Organs
• Effects of Major Factors on the Duration of Developmental Phases
• Chapter 3. Physiological and Numerical Components of Wheat Yield
• Introduction
•  Factors Affecting Kernal Number
• Factors Affecting Individual Kernal Weight
•  Summary and Strategies for Future Yield Improvement
•  Chapter 4. Nitrogen As Determinant of Wheat Growth and Yield
• Introduction
• Nitrogen in the Soil
• Nitrogen Metabolism in the Plant
• Nitrogen Effects at the Plant and Crop Level
•  Optimization of Nitrogen Fertilization
• Water Supply and Nitrogen Assimilation
• Chapter 5. Grain Quality and Its Physiological Determinants
• Introduction
• What Makes Wheat So Special?--The Wheat Proteins
• The Nonprotein Components of the Wheat Grain
• How Do Wheat Grains Grow? Grain Quality Is the Result of Interactions Between Grain Components
• Conclusions
• Part II: Wheat Ecology
• Chapter 6. Effects of Sowing Date and the Determination of Optimum Sowing Date
• Introduction
• Sowing and Establishment
• Growth and Development
• Maturation and Harvest
• Experimental Estimation of Optimum Sow Dates
•  Wheat in England
• Wheat in Australia
• Other Regions
•  Determination of Optimal Sowing Dates
• Chapter 7. Plant Density and Distribution As Modifiers of Growth and Yield
• Introduction
• Ecophysiological Basis of Density Response
• The Effect of Resources on Crop Density Response
• The Effect of Sowing Date and Plant Arrangement
• Mathematical Relationships Between Plant Yield and Density
•  Concluding Remarks
•  Chapter 8. Wheat Yield As Affected by Weeds
• Introduction
• Weeds of Wheat
• Yield Losses
• Competition
•  Justification for Weed Removal
•  Effects on Yield Components and Grain Quality
• Phytotoxin Effects of Herbicides
•  Chapter 9. Wheat Growth, Yield, and Quality As Affected by Insect Herbivores
•   Introduction
• Yield Responses to Herbivory
• Functional Classification of Herbivores
• Key Pests
•  Other Pests
• Population-Level Responses to Herbivory
• Concluding Remarks
• Chapter 10. Wheat Yield As Affected by Disease
• Introduction
• Physiological Processes Interrupted by Wheat Pathogens
•  Diversion of Foodstuffs to Abnormal Uses (Bunt and Smuts)
• Scab--An Exception
• Chapter 11. Wheat As a Polyculture Component (Santiago J. Sarandon)
• Introduction
• How to Measure Intercropping Performance
• Effect of Mixtures on Plant Diseases
• Effect of Mixtures on Resource Use
• Effect of Mixtures on Grain Quality
• Intercropping Wheat with Other Species
• The Evaluation of Genotypes for Intercropping
• Future Research Needs
• Concluding Remarks
• Part III: Wheat Production Systems
•  Chapter 12. Wheat Production in the Great Plains of North America
•   Introduction
• Description of Wheat Production Systems
• Technological Factors That Have Increased Grain Yields in This Century
• Transformation of Wheat Production Systems in the Future
•  Chapter 13. Wheat Cropping in Australia
• Introduction
• Wheat Climate and Soils
• Historic Changes in Wheat Yield
• Recent Changes in Wheat Yield
• Current Situation of Wheat Farming
• Challenges to Productivity Gain
• Wheat Research and Extension
• Future Perspectives
• Chapter 14. Wheat Production in Mediterranean Environments
• The Mediterranean Climate
•  Wheat in the Mediterranean Environments
• Rotations
• Germplasm
• Concluding Remarks
• Chapter 15. Wheat Production Systems of the Pampas
• Introduction
• Climate and Soils: Major Constraints for Wheat Production
• Wheat Production Systems
• Future Perspectives
• Part IV: Breeding to Further Raise Wheat Yields
• Chapter 16. Genetic Gains in Wheat Yield and Associated Physiological Changes During the Twentieth Century
• Introduction
• Plant Breeding and Genetic Gains in Grain Yield
• Consequences of Breeding for Plant Height and Related Traits
• Plant Breeding and Biomass: Effects on Partitioning and Growth
• Genetic Improvements in Nitrogen and Phosphorus Economies
• Numerical Yield Components in Old and Modern Cultivars
•  Conclusion
•  Chapter 17. Physiological Traits That Increase the Yield Potential of Wheat
• Introduction
• Identifying Promising Traits
•  Selecting for Promising Traits
• Concluding Remarks
• Chapter 18. Breeding Hybrid Wheat for Low-Yielding Environments
• Introduction
•  Genotype-Stress Interaction
• The Hybrid Profile
•  Genetic Diversity Is Paramount
•  Intrapopulation Improvement
• Selection Within the Male Pool
• Heterosis and Plant Population X Row Width Interactions
• Hybrid Yield, Stability, and Response to Yield
• The Ideal Hybrid
• Chapter 19. Actual and Potential Contributions of Biotechnology to Wheat Breeding
• Introduction
• Molecular Markers, Maps, and Their Application
• Introgression of “Alien” Genes into Wheat by Chromosome Engineering
•  Genetic Engineering of Wheat
• Conclusion
• Author Index
• Subject Index
• Reference Notes Included

Biography

E H Satorre, Gustavo A Slafer