Evolution of Wheat and its origin:

Evolution of Wheat and its Origin:

Evolution of Wheat and its origin

 Wheat plant.

Wheat,  significant genetic changes over the past ten thousand years of cultivation. Inferred to have originated from the eastern part of Turkey, wheat was initially an F AA AND tetraploid, with a genome constitution of AABB, and its spectrum was planted in the Middle East about 9,000 years ago. Tauschii or Aegilops tauschii, a wild grass, played an important role in the formation of the wheat species as it hybridized several times to create the new hexaploid with the AABBDD genome, which offered superior properties for farmers.

During domestication, genetic changes motivated by farmers' selective breeding mean that modern wheat species cannot survive when competing with the more appropriate species. Recent studies indicate that the hexaploid genome is primarily associated with wild sheep and cavities, while the genome of T. tauschii is most prevalent in the hexaploid D.

Economic Importance of Wheat:

Wheat Production in Pakistan (Genetic):

Pakistan's wheat production range spans from arid to semi-arid lands, with an average precipitation of 250 mm. Cultivation accounts for approximately 22 million hectares of the total 80 million hectares in Pakistan, with flooded and regulated farmland accounting for 17 and 5 million hectares, respectively. Although Pakistan's wheat production ranks ninth globally, the nation's low yield indicates that improving wheat production technology could yield better results.

Water Use Efficiency (WUE):

• Water use efficiency (WUE) refers to the optimal carbon gain by transpiring water per unit area. Using WUE, stomatal conductance, and photosynthesis as screening tools, distinguishable fungal effects can be predicted. The effectiveness of water use is expressed and measured as the relationship between total biomass or grain yield and water supply, evapotranspiration, or daily or seasonal sweating.
• At the harvest field level, WUE typically represents the ratio of aboveground biomass or economic yield to water use or evapotranspiration (ET). In regions with Mediterranean climates where crops grow on current rainfall with no runoff or deep drainage from the soil, growing season rainfall may be a useful measure of crop water use.
• Improvements in irrigation have a high potential to increase WUE in South Asia, where irrigation is extensively used. McKinsey & Company noted that significant WUE improvements are possible in Asia. In irrigation, WUE can be increased in two ways: (a) improving the delivery of irrigation water to the crop, and (b) improving the utilization of water by the plant after delivery. Both are critical in terms of quantity.

• WUE for yield is often related to drought, and genotypic variations in WUE are generally expressed mainly in variations in water use (WU). Reduced WU that is reflected in higher WUE is usually achieved by plant traits and environmental responses that reduce yield production. Improved WUE based on reduced WU is expressed in improved yield under water-limited conditions only when there is a need to balance crop water use against a limited and known soil moisture reserve. However, in most drought situations where crops depend on unpredictable seasonal rainfall, maximizing soil moisture utilization is an essential component of drought resistance, generally expressed in a lower WUE.

Conclusion:

Wheat has evolved genetically through numerous changes over 10,000 years of cultivation, from its initial F AA AND tetraploid to the current hexaploid AABBDD genome formation. Pakistan ranks ninth globally in wheat production but could achieve higher yields by improving wheat production technology. Maximizing soil moisture utilization is an essential component of drought resistance, which generally expresses a lower WUE.