Khumalo-Mthembu Thobeka Philile, Mmereki Palesa, Mzimela Nokulunga Prudence, Barnard Annelie, Tsilo Toi John
Germplasm Development, Production Systems & Crop Protection, Agricultural Research Council-Small Grain Institute, Bethlehem 9700, South Africa.
Department of Life and Consumer Sciences, University of South Africa, Florida 1710, South Africa.
Plants (Basel). 2025 Jul 10;14(14):2134. doi: 10.3390/plants14142134.
Pre-harvest sprouting of wheat is the premature germination of ripened wheat ( L.) kernels in the spike before harvest and is influenced by a combination of environmental and genetic factors, and their interaction. This greatly affects grain yield and quality, thus posing a threat to food security and sustainable agriculture. Pre-harvest sprouting has been studied for over 30 years in South Africa and remains a trait of interest in our wheat breeding programs amid climatic change. This paper therefore provides a comprehensive review of the progress made, as well as the challenges and limitations encountered, in breeding wheat for pre-harvest sprouting tolerance in South Africa. Future prospects and research directions are also discussed. Conventional breeding has been the main breeding strategy used in the country, with the success of breeding commercial wheat cultivars with durable pre-harvest sprouting tolerance for deployment in the three main wheat production regions of South Africa. Therefore, augmenting conventional breeding with molecular markers and modern genomic breeding technologies is anticipated to speed up breeding locally adapted, climate-resilient wheat varieties that balance tolerance to pre-harvest sprouting with high yield potential. This is key to realizing sustainable development goals of food security and sustainable agriculture.
小麦收获前发芽是指成熟的小麦（L.）籽粒在收获前于穗中过早萌发，它受到环境因素、遗传因素及其相互作用的综合影响。这极大地影响了谷物产量和品质，从而对粮食安全和可持续农业构成威胁。在南非，对收获前发芽的研究已有30多年，在气候变化的背景下，它仍然是我们小麦育种计划中关注的一个性状。因此，本文全面综述了南非在培育抗收获前发芽小麦方面取得的进展，以及遇到的挑战和限制。还讨论了未来的前景和研究方向。传统育种一直是该国使用的主要育种策略，已成功培育出具有持久抗收获前发芽能力的商业小麦品种，可在南非的三个主要小麦产区推广种植。因此，预计用分子标记和现代基因组育种技术增强传统育种，将加快培育适应本地气候、具有气候适应能力的小麦品种，这些品种能在抗收获前发芽能力和高产潜力之间取得平衡。这是实现粮食安全和可持续农业可持续发展目标的关键。
