Grain protein content (GPC) is a key quality attribute and an important marketing trait in wheat. In the current cropping systems worldwide, GPC is mostly determined by nitrogen (N) fertilizer application. The objectives of this study were to understand the differences in N response between high and low GPC wheat genotypes, and to assess the value of biomass growth analysis to assess the differences in N response. Six wheat genotypes from a range of high to low GPC were grown in low, medium and high N, under glasshouse conditions. This experiment was designed around non-destructive estimation of biomass using a high throughput image-based phenotyping system. Results showed that Spitfire and Mace had higher grain N% than Gazelle and QAL2000, and appeared to demand more N to grow their biomass. Moreover, at low N, Spitfire grew faster and achieved the maximum absolute growth rate earlier than high N-treated plants. High grain N% genotypes seem able to manage grain N reserves by compromising biomass production at low N. This study also indicated the importance of biomass growth analysis to show the differences in the N responsiveness of high and low GPC wheat.

Multi-environment trial studies provide an opportunity for the detailed analysis of complex traits. However, conducting trials across a large number of regions can be costly and labor intensive. The Australian National Variety Trials (NVT) provide grain yield and protein content (GPC) data of over 200 wheat varieties in many and varied environments across the Australian wheat-belt and is representative of similar trials conducted in other countries. Through our analysis of the NVT dataset, we highlight the advantages and limitations in using these data to explore the relationship between grain yield and GPC in the low yielding environments of Australia. Eight environment types (ETs), categorized in a previous study based on the time and intensity of drought stress, were used to analyze the impact of drought on the relationship between grain yield and protein content. The study illustrates the value of comprehensive multi-environment analysis to explore the complex relationship between yield and GPC, and to identify the most appropriate environments to select for a favorable relationship. However, the NVT trial design does not follow the rigor associated with a normal genotype × environment study and this limits the accuracy of the interpretation.

The frequency and severity of drought is predicted to rise in many parts of the world. Considering that drought is the main constraint on rain-fed wheat crop production, both agronomic and genetic measures have been taken to minimize yield losses under drought. Beyond its role as a micronutrient, chloride also acts as an osmoticum, implicated in the regulation of stomatal aperture. This study explores the potential for chloride fertilization of Australian bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) to minimize grain yield losses caused by drought stress. For this, two drought-tolerant commercial genotypes (Mace and Gladius) and a well-studied drought-tolerant genotype used in wheat breeding (RAC875) were treated with ammonium chloride, potassium chloride, or ammonium bicarbonate, the latter two treatments served as controls for chloride and ammonium, respectively. Plants were grown under either a watered or water-restricted (drought) regime. The genotype RAC875 was found to accumulate leaf chloride at a significantly higher level than the other genotypes under optimal growth conditions. Under drought conditions, top-dressing RAC875 plants with ammonium chloride resulted in up to a 2.5-fold increase in grain number and this effect was not seen when plants were top-dressed with either of the control fertilizers. The ammonium chloride treatment also minimized losses of grain yield in RAC875 plants grown under drought. Treatment effects were accompanied by an increase in stomatal conductance. These results collectively suggest that the compound fertilizer ammonium chloride can improve drought tolerance of wheat.

Instantaneous water use efficiency (WUEi) is a measure made at the leaf scale, which can be used as a criterion for estimating WUE in breeding programs. To study the WUEi in different almond (Prunus dulcis) genotypes, we measured stomatal conductance (gS), assimilation rate (A), transpiration, internal concentration of CO2 (Ci), and leaf hydraulic conductance normalized to leaf area in five mixed crosses of almond trees. For all measured parameters we observed the most significant differences between ‘Johnston’ × ‘Lauranne’ and ‘Nonpareil’ × ‘Lauranne’. Nevertheless, ‘Carmel’ × ‘Tarraco’ showed the highest WUEi among the five crosses. The significant correlations among gS, A, and Ci indicated that A was probably limited by both stomatal and non-stomatal parameters that might be affected by genotype variations. In another experiment, we selected three cultivars of a new set of almond cultivars (Nonpareil, Carmel, and Masbovera) in four replicates for measuring gS at field capacity. Meanwhile, using a cryo-scanning electron microscopic (SEM) method, we prepared some images from the internal structures of leaves collected from the same cultivars of almond trees. Results showed that ‘Masbovera’ leaves, in which post-venous hydraulic distance (Dm) was higher compared with ‘Carmel’ and ‘Nonpareil’, represented significantly lower values of gS rather than the two other cultivars. Comparing mesophyll anatomy and gS between these cultivars demonstrated that Dm and the density of mesophyll cells might indirectly affect gS in almond leaves. In conclusion, our study demonstrated that water relations, WUEi, and leaf anatomy in almond trees differed among genotypes.