Exploring and Predicting Genetic Causes of Yield Variation in Winter Wheat

Noah Daniel DeWitt

“...Kernel morphometric parameters and total spike yield for the KIN18 experiment and all 2019 field experiments were obtained by sampling seed threshed from the six-spike sample of each row using a scale and a Vibe QM3grain analyzer...”

ABSTRACT: “For most economically important plant species, yield is the primary focus of crop improvement, as increasing it increases the amount of food that can be obtained from a production system by human activity. Growers of soft red winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) receive a return on investment proportional to their per-acre yield, given that harvested grain meets quality standards. Yield is also genetically complex, integrating information on interactions between genotype and environment that occur over the course of a growing season. Yield relates to the total accumulated and reallocated resources obtained by plants over the course of their lives, and any factors that affect any aspect of plant growth and development will also affect yield. These complex interactions between genetic variation and environmental variation are difficult to untangle. By understanding important parts of those interactions, breeders and geneticists may better develop cultivars that maximize performance across a range of possible environmental conditions…”

PhD Dissertation, North Carolina State University, 2022. https://www.lib.ncsu.edu/resolver/1840.20/39578
Dissertation PDF