Cereal Breeding Strategies for Regional Low-Temperature Extremes.

Cereals have the ability to low-temperature (LT) acclimate allowing spring and/or winter habit forms of wheat, oat, barley and rye to be produced as primary food and feed energy sources in temperate environments throughout the world. This wide adaptation is due to an assortment of interacting mechanisms. Plant breeders have utilized this variability to develop cultivars that optimize regional production potential. Final selection is usually based on the results from test winters that occur infrequently, but often with disastrous outcomes, highlighting the need for more effective breeding methods. The recent attention being paid to predictions of more erratic and unpredictable weather due to global climate change further serves to emphasize the need for a better understanding of the resources available for the development of cultivars designed to minimize regional production risks due to LT extremes. This presentation reviews the mechanisms cereals have evolved for coping with LT stress and their interaction with stage of phenological development, describes the tools available for selection, and outlines strategies for the development of regionally adapted cultivars.