Agronomic Advancement in Tillage, Crop Rotation, Soil Health, and Genetic Gain in Durum Wheat Cultivation: A 17-Year Canadian Story

Abstract

The global demands for various grains, including durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. subsp. durum (Desf.) Husn.), are expected to increase substantially in the coming years, due to the ever-growing human population’s needs for food, feed, and fuel. Thus, providing consistent or increased durum grain to the world market is one of the priorities for policy-makers, researchers, and farmers. What are the major achievements in agronomic advancement for durum wheat cultivation in recent decades? How might the current cropping systems be improved to increase crop yield and quality and improve resource use efficiencies while minimizing input costs and decreasing negative impact on the environment? Canada is one of the major durum wheat producers in the world, as Canada contributes about 50% to global trade of durum grain. Canada’s research achievements in durum wheat might serve as a guide for advancing the cultivation of the crop in other regions/countries on the planet. This review summarizes the major Canadian research findings in the aspects of durum wheat agronomics during the period 2001 to 2017 years. It highlights the main advancements in seeding and tillage, crop rotation and diversification, and use of pulse-induced microbiomes to improve soil health and feedback mechanisms. The genetic gain and breeding for resistance against abiotic and biotic stresses are discussed. Finally, we identified the main constraints and suggested some near-term research priorities. The research findings highlighted in this review will be of use for other areas on the planet to increase durum wheat productivity, improve soil fertility and health, and enhance long-term sustainability.

Keywords

• Triticum durum
• cropping systems
• microbiome
• fertilization
• tillage
• breeding
• environmental footprint