Lucerne accessions differently affected wheat and weed growth in living mulch systems. Non-dormant accessions controlled weeds in winter, but were competitive with wheat. Short lucerne accessions facilitated wheat growth but weakly suppressed weeds. No available lucerne accession combined high wheat yield, weed control, and nitrogen nutrition.

Wild cotton species (WCS) serve as a reservoir of unique traits, useful to cotton breeders for genetic improvement in cultivated cotton species (CCS). Although breeding programs traditionally use phenotypic information in selecting parents, they overlook plant/soil attributes because of absence of data. A comparative analysis was conducted to understand the differences in 10 WCS and 4 CCS. WCS had higher plant defense enzyme activities than did CCS. Our results supplement the cotton database, and benefit cotton breeders in parent selection.

Aegilops tauchii, which is the ancestor of the common wheat, has abundant genetic variation, but the volume of production and quality of Qinghai–Tibet Plateau wheat are not good because of the local special climate. Different processing conditions were used to find the Aegilops tauschii accessions that adapted to the climate of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau, and we have selected 57 Aegilops tauchii accessions that can succeed in this climate. The current situation of common wheat in Qinghai–Tibet Plateau can benefit from these results.

As a polygenic stress, drought poses one of the major threats to crop yields in agriculture. Advances in sequencing technology have shown that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play important roles in plant growth and stress responses. Differential expression analysis showed 310 differentially expressed lincRNAs (DE-lincRNAs). Functional enrichment annotation and quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction analyses were employed to explore the regulatory responses of lincRNAs during drought stress, which is important for the breeding of drought-resistant wheat varieties.

Heterosis breeding is a crucial method for breaking the yield plateau in rice (Oryza sativa L.). Inter-subspecific crosses were used in rice to diversify the parental lines to harness high heterosis. We evaluated the newly developed inter-subspecific lines for agronomic and quality traits to identify promising candidates. The inter-subspecific derivatives showed substantial genetic diversity. Selection based on multiple traits identified a few superior lines that may serve as potential restorers in hybrid development.

This article belongs to the collection: Plant breeding- and genetics-based tools for food security under changing climate.

To address rising greenhouse-gas emissions from intensive farming in the North China Plain, we investigated five cropping systems under future climate scenarios. Although a warming climate may boost crop yields, traditional wheat–maize double-cropping worsens emissions. Shifting to three crops in a 2-year cropping system with straw mulching could reduce emissions by 21.6–25.5% compared with conventional cropping system. This optimized system maintains productivity while slashing environmental harm, offering a blueprint for sustainable agriculture in a warming world.

This article belongs to the collection: Climate Change Impact and Adapting Strategies Based on Advanced Modelling Techniques.

This study evaluates 186 Kırik wheat (Triticum aestvium) genotypes and eight standard varieties, identifying superior lines with enhanced yield, quality, and cold resistance traits for sustainable wheat production. Key genotypes exhibited outstanding agronomic and quality characteristics, including grain yield, spike length, and gluten content, highlighting their potential for wheat improvement. The findings underscore the value of Kırik wheat as a genetic resource for pre-breeding programmes aimed at developing resilient wheat varieties to address future agricultural challenges.