• Short bursts of extreme heat during wheat flowering can drastically reduce yields. • Drought coinciding with flowering amplifies stress, leading to lower grain quality and quantity. • Climate models predict more frequent heatwaves, increasing risk for wheat-growing regions worldwide. • Current breeding programs lag behind, lacking heat-tolerant varieties for flowering stage. • Farmers may need to adjust sowing dates or adopt irrigation to mitigate flowering stress. • Global wheat supply could face significant shortfalls, impacting food security and prices.
Article Summaries:
- New research shows that short periods of extreme heat and drought during flowering could become one of the biggest threats to global wheat production in the coming decades. As the climate changes, farmers around the world are facing more frequent and intense weather extremes.
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