Category : Science and TechPublished on: December 03 2022
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A new drought-resilient semi-dwarf wheat gene which can be grown in drier soil conditions, discovered by an international team of scientists.
Scientists at the John Innes Centre, in collaboration with an international team of researchers, discovered the new ‘reduced height’ or semi-dwarf gene called Rht13.
Reduced height gene means that seeds can be planted deeper in the soil, giving access to moisture, without the adverse effect on seedling emergence seen with existing wheat varieties.
The study said varieties of wheat with the Rht13 gene could be rapidly bred into wheat varieties to enable farmers to grow reduced-height wheat in drier soil conditions.
Since the 1960s and the Green Revolution, short height genes have increased global wheat yields and improved their sustainable potential.
