Achieving sustainable cultivation of wheat Volume 2

Wheat is the most widely cultivated cereal in the world and a staple food for around 3 billion people. It has been estimated that demand for wheat could increase by up to 560% by 2050. There is an urgent need to increase yields in the face of such challenges as climate change, threats from pests and diseases and the need to make cultivation more resource-efficient and sustainable.

Drawing on an international range of expertise, this collection focuses on ways of improving the cultivation of wheat at each step in the value chain, from breeding to post-harvest storage. Volume 1 reviews research in improving cultivation techniques. Chapters in Part 1 review topics such as variety selection, seed and root growth, water and nutrient management. Part 2 goes on to discuss broader issues such as sustainable intensification and organic cultivation. The final part of the collection covers ways of improving wheat cultivation in the developing world.

Achieving sustainable cultivation of wheat Volume 2: Cultivation techniques will be a standard reference for cereal scientists in universities, government and other research centres and companies involved in wheat cultivation. It is accompanied by Volume 1 which reviews breeding, quality traits, pests and diseases.

• Reviews advances in cultivation practice such as seed establishment and more efficient irrigation techniques;
• Summarises developments in ‘climate smart’ agriculture such as conservation tillage and organic wheat cultivation;
• Discusses ways of supporting smallholders improve wheat cultivation in North Africa and other regions in the developing world
  

Part 1 Wheat cultivation techniques
1.Variety selection in wheat cultivation: Arun Kumar Joshi, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT); Vinod Kumar Mishra, Banaras Hindu University, India; and Simanchal Sahu, Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology, India;
2.Establishment and root development in wheat crops: Peter J. Gregory and Christina K. Clarke, University of Reading, UK;
3.Conservation tillage for sustainable wheat intensification: the example of South Asia: Vijesh Krishna, Georg-August University of Göttingen, Germany; Alwin Keil, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), India; Sreejith Aravindakshan, Wageningen University, The Netherlands; and Mukesh Meena, Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, India;
4.Improving water management in winter wheat: Q. Xue, J. Rudd, J. Bell, T. Marek and S. Liu, Texas A&M Agrilife Research and Extension Center at Amarillo, USA;
5.Post-harvest wheat losses in Africa: an Ethiopian case study: Tadesse Dessalegn, Tesfaye Solomon, Tesfaye Gebre Kristos, Abiy Solomon, Shure Seboka and Yazie Chane, Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, Ethiopia; Bhadriraju Subramanyam and Kamala A. Roberts, Kansas State University, USA; Fetien Abay and Rizana Mahroof, South Carolina State University, USA;

Part 2 Wheat crop management
6.Wheat crop modelling to improve yields: J. R. Guarin and S. Asseng, University of Florida, USA;
7.Integrated crop management of wheat: Brian L. Beres, Reem Aboukhaddour and Haley Catton, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge Research and Development Centre, Canada;
8.Organic production of wheat and spelt: T. F. Döring, Humbolt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany;
9.Durum wheat: production, challenges and opportunities: J. M. Clarke, K. Nilsen, D. Khitiri, X. Lin and C. J. Pozniak, University of Saskatchewan, Canada; and K. Ammar, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Mexico;

Part 3 Improving wheat cultivation in the developing world
10.Supporting smallholders in improving wheat cultivation: Tinashe Chiurugwi, Simon Kerr, Ian Midgley, and Lesley Boyd, National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB), UK; Johnson Kamwaga, Food Crops Research Centre - Njoro, Kenya; Peter Njau, Highlands Agri-consult Services Ltd, Kenya; Terry Van Gevelt, University of Cambridge, UK; Claudia Canales and Max Marcheselli, the Malaysian Commonwealth Studies Centre (MCSC) and the Cambridge Malaysian Education and Development Trust (CMEDT), UK;
11.Improving wheat cultivation in Asia: Rajiv Kumar Sharma, Global Wheat Improvement Program - CIMMYT, India;
12.Improving wheat production in the Central and West Asia and North Africa (CWANA) region: W. Tadesse, A. Amri, M. Sanchez-Garcia, M. El-Bouhssini, M. Karrou, S. Patil, F. Bassi and M. Baum, International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas, Morocco; and T. Oweis, International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas, Jordan;