Assessing the vulnerability of the durum wheat Mediterranean farming system to climate change (SHWheat)

IP1. Sergio G. Atienza.

ORCID. 0000-0001-5175-8303

IP2. Dámaso Hornero Méndez.

ORCID. 0000-0002-1781-5703

December 01 2022 / November 30 2024

Proyectos de transición ecológica y transición digital 2021

Abstract

Climate change will have a significant impact in both crop productivity and quality. Short heat waves (SHW) have a significant impact in productivity by reducing spike fertility and affecting grain filling. Furthermore, they also alter the biosynthesis and accumulation of many compounds reducing the agronomical and nutritional quality of cereal grains. SHW must be treated as a serious concern in Mediterranean environments since they are predicted to happen more frequently in the future.

Durum wheat [(Triticum turgidum L. var durum (Desf.) Husn.] is the 10th most important cereal worldwide with a yearly production average of 40 million Tm. Durum wheat production in Spain is concentrated in Andalusia and Aragon with over 95% of the total area and production (MAPA 2020). These regions will suffer more frequent SHW due to climate change, which would impact farming system affecting profitability and sustainability of farming systems due to reductions of productivity and quality.

Carotenoids are the pigments responsible for the yellow colour of the endosperm of durum wheat grains, and this trait is of paramount importance for the pasta industry in order to produce high-quality products. The accumulation of carotenoids is negatively affected by high temperatures during grain filling, subsequently diminishing quality. This can seriously affect biofortification efforts aimed to improve β,β-carotenoids since they are the direct precursors of abscisic acid (ABA) which is produced in response to abiotic stresses.
Furthermore, SHW not only reduce productivity but also impact other quality parameters such as hectolitre weight.

Current durum wheat varieties have not been specifically selected against SHW and thus they are potentially vulnerable if this abiotic stress becomes more frequent as predicted.
The general objective of SHWheat is to increase the resilience of Mediterranean farming systems by assessing the effects of Short Heat Waves (SHW) to durum wheat productivity and quality. SHWheat project will assess the vulnerability of durum wheat Mediterranean
farming systems against SHW by comparative analyses of elite durum wheat and older varieties, durum wheat landraces and alternative crops such as triticale.

The adaptation to climate change is a priority for durum wheat system in Mediterranean environments. The fulfilment of the objectives of SHWheat will allow determining the resilience of farming systems against climate change and the necessities of durum wheat breeding programs for specific evaluation against SHW stress. This would strengthen the viability of the durum wheat farming systems maintaining the productivity under climate change.

KEY WORDS: Durum wheat, grain quality, short heat waves, productivity, climate change.