The Genome Regions Associated with Abiotic and Biotic Stress Tolerance, as Well as Other Important Breeding Traits in Triticale

Triticale field phenotyping using RGB camera for ear counting and yield estimation

Triticale (X Triticosecale Wittmack), a wheat-rye small grain crop hybrid, combines wheat and rye attributes in one hexaploid genome. It is characterized by high adaptability to adverse environmental conditions: drought, soil acidity, salinity and heavy metal ions, poorer soil quality, and waterlogging. So that its cultivation is prospective in a changing climate. Here, we describe RGB on-ground phenotyping of field-grown eighteen triticale market-available cultivars, made in naturally changing light conditions, in two consecutive winter cereals growing seasons: 2018-2019 and 2019-2020. The number of ears was counted on top-down images with an accuracy of 95% and mean average precision (mAP) of 0.71 using advanced object detection algorithm YOLOv4, with ensemble modeling of field imaging captured in two different illumination conditions. A correlation between the number of ears and yield was achieved at the statistical importance of 0.16 for data from 2019. Results are discussed from the perspective of modern breeding and phenotyping bottleneck.

Temperature-Caused Changes in Raman Pattern and Protein Profiles of Winter Triticale (x Triticosecale, Wittm.) Field-Grown Seedlings

Climate change, which causes periods with relatively high temperatures in winter in Poland, can lead to a shortening or interruption of the cold hardening of crops. Previous research indicates that cold acclimation is of key importance in the process of acquiring cereal tolerance to stress factors. The objective of this work was to verify the hypothesis that both natural temperature fluctuations and the plant genotype influence the content of metabolites as well as proteins, including antioxidant enzymes and photosystem proteins. The research material involved four winter triticale genotypes, differing in their tolerance to stress under controlled conditions. The values of chlorophyll a fluorescence parameters and antioxidant activity were measured in their seedlings. Subsequently, the contribution of selected proteins was verified using specific antibodies. In parallel, the profiling of the contents of chlorophylls, carotenoids, phenolic compounds, and proteins was carried out by Raman spectroscopy. The obtained results indicate that a better PSII performance along with a higher photosystem II proteins content and thioredoxin reductase abundance were accompanied by a higher antioxidant activity in the field-grown triticale seedlings. The Raman studies showed that the cold hardening led to a variation in photosynthetic dyes and an increase in the phenolic to carotenoids ratio in all DH lines.

Response of nine triticale genotypes to different salt concentrations at the germination and early seedling stages

Salinity stress poses a major challenge to agricultural productivity worldwide, and understanding their responses at the early growth stage is vital for devising strategies to cope with this stress. Therefore, to improve triticale productivity, this study investigated the salinity stress tolerance of different salt-tolerant triticale genotypes aiming to cultivate them on saline soils. To this end, salinity stress impacts on nine triticale genotypes, i.e., Zhongsi 1084, Gannong No. 2, Gannong No. 4, Shida No. 1, C6, C16, C23, C25 and C36 at germination and early seedling stages was evaluated. Each genotype was subjected to six treatments inducing control, 40, 80, 120, 160, and 200 mM NaCl treatments to study their effect on seedling and termination traits of the nine genotypes. Compared to the overall mean seedling vigor index, the seedling vigor index was higher in the genotypes Zhongsi 1084 and C6 (39% and 18.1%, respectively) and lower in Gannong No.2 (41%). Increasing NaCl concentrations negatively affected germination and seedling traits. Compared to other genotypes, Zhongsi 1084 had the highest mean germination rate, germination vigor index, germination percentage, mean daily germination and germination energy. It also showed the lowest relative salt injury. The relative salt injury was higher in the genotype Shida No. 1 than those in Gannong No. 2, Gannong No. 4, Shida No. 1, C16, and C36 genotypes. All genotypes exhibited desirable mean germination time except for line C6. High significant positive correlations were observed among germination rate, germination vigor index, germination percentage, mean daily germination, seedling vigor index, and root length. Principal component analysis (PCA) grouped the most desirable genotypes into two clusters. Our study determined salt stress tolerance of nine triticale genotypes at germination and early seedling stages. to select salt-tolerant genotypes that can be cultivated on saline soil or after salt irrigation.

Triticale in Italy

Triticale is currently grown throughout the world with a wider diffusion in Europe, with Poland, Belarus, Germany, France and Spain as major producers. Although triticale occupies a very small fraction of the Italian cultivated land (16,000 ha of harvested area, mean value of the past 5 years), a continuous interest for this crop and its possible uses explains the work and progress made by breeding activities in different periods. The aim of this review is to report some experiences related to the cultivation of triticale in Italy. A general long-term view of the performance of triticale varieties in Italy has been distilled from a large amount of data derived from the pluri-decennial Italian national variety trials network. This activity, historically coordinated by CREA-GB, extends over several decades and examines the agronomic performance, in different Italian environments, of the most widespread and emerging varieties of triticale. Indications on new breeding targets can be deduced from the elaborations in the frame of both climatic change and market demands.