A scholarship awarded through the Grains Research and Development Corporation is supporting research aimed at improving wheat heat tolerance as climate-related temperature stress increasingly threatens global wheat production.
Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture Ph.D. candidate Abu Bakar Siddique was named one of the recipients of the corporation’s research scholarships, which are intended to support projects addressing challenges and opportunities within the Australian grain industry.
More than 130 domestic and international applicants competed for this year’s scholarships. The program provides financial and industry support to high-achieving students pursuing doctoral research connected to sustainability and profitability in grain production.
Siddique’s research focuses on understanding how wheat responds to heat stress, particularly during reproductive growth stages that are critical for yield development. The project examines factors including pollen survival, spikelet fertility and the plant’s ability to remain green under elevated temperatures.
The study involves 319 wheat lines evaluated under glasshouse, controlled growth room and field conditions. Plants are exposed to heat stress during key reproductive phases, allowing researchers to identify genetic traits associated with heat tolerance.
As part of the work, Siddique developed a testing method using a thermal cycler to rapidly measure pollen heat survival. The screening approach is intended to provide a scalable method for identifying heat-tolerant wheat varieties.
Researchers are also evaluating populations derived from both heat-tolerant and heat-sensitive commercial wheat varieties to validate the findings. Once valuable traits are confirmed, the goal is to incorporate those genetic characteristics into high-performing wheat varieties that currently lack strong heat tolerance.
The research aligns with the corporation’s priorities related to developing heat-resistant wheat cultivars suited to Australian growing environments and improving long-term crop resilience under rising temperatures.
Source: University of Tasmania, "Tackling the impact heat has on wheat"