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Managing and Breeding Wheat for Organic Systems pp 1–7Cite as

Wheat: The Miracle Cereal

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Part of the book series: SpringerBriefs in Agriculture ((BRIEFSAGRO))

Abstract

Wheat is one of the most important cereal crops. It covers the largest area under any single crop in the world. It feeds about 40 % of the world’s population and provides 20 % of the caloric and protein requirements in human nutrition. Wheat also occupies a central position in maintaining world’s food security. Following incorporation of semi-dwarfing genes, wheat production doubled in the 1960s, an era called the Green Revolution. The Green Revolution resulted in the development of semi dwarf wheat cultivars that were highly responsive to inorganic fertilizer application, were early maturing and resistant to lodging. Semi dwarf cultivars also remained resistant to various diseases for many decades. Wheat genetic gains are less than 1 % per annum which are not sufficient to meet the future food demand of ever increasing human population. This chapter addresses importance, history, production and utilization of wheat from different perspectives.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada

    Muhammad Asif & Dean Spaner

  2. National Agricultural Research Centre, Islamabad, Pakistan

    Muhammad Iqbal

  3. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge Research Centre, Lethbridge, AB, Canada

    Harpinder Randhawa

Authors
  1. Muhammad Asif
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  2. Muhammad Iqbal
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  3. Harpinder Randhawa
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  4. Dean Spaner
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Correspondence to Muhammad Asif .

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Asif, M., Iqbal, M., Randhawa, H., Spaner, D. (2014). Wheat: The Miracle Cereal. In: Managing and Breeding Wheat for Organic Systems. SpringerBriefs in Agriculture. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05002-7_1

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