Drought tolerance is critically important in the face of climate change, population growth and land-use pressures.
Scientists from The Australian National University (ANU), ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, and CSIRO Agriculture and Food have developed a new method to identify drought-resilient wheat quickly, cheaply and accurately.
Lead researchers Dr. Arun Yadav and Dr. Adam Carroll said selecting wheat that can grow better during short- to medium-term drought is vital to help fight food insecurity around the world.
"Our work may be instrumental for farmers to maximize food production in the face of increasingly severe drought," said Dr. Yadav from the Research School of Biology and ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology at ANU.
"Hardy crop plants that can maintain high yields under drought will help farmers produce more food reliably and maintain domestic and export markets for Australia."
"Drought is a major agricultural challenge in Australia, affecting food production, farmers' livelihoods and costing the government billions of dollars in relief efforts."
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