• Soybean germplasm evaluation: Nutritive grain quality under climate change conditions
• Genotypic selection of peas under climate change
• Innovative strategies for early stress detection and increasing maize tolerance to cold stress
• Legumes as a source of biologically active phytochemicals
• Breeding development of alfalfa and red clover germplasm adapted to climate changes
• Predictive modelling of agronomic traits in maize using modern technologies
• Assessment of quantitative traits in small grain cereals germplasm considering climate change
• The role of genetic specificity, plant growth regulators, and biostimulants in increasing the resistance to abiotic and biotic stress, yield, and quality of sour cherry fruit
• The influence of climate changes on the expression of the most important agronomic, physiological and biochemical traits of sunflower under conditions of different plant density
• Influence of combined abiotic stresses and climatic oscillations on production and quality of seed
• Water, soil and cultivar – fundamental elements of sustainable agriculture in climate change

Full project title

Assessment of quantitative traits in small grain cereals germplasm considering climate change

Project acronym

CLIM-CEREALS-QUANT

Lead researcher

Krešimir Dvojković, PhD, Senior Scientific Adviser

Članovi/ce projektnog tima

1. Dario Novoselović, PhD, Senior Scientific Adviser, Agricultural institute Osijek
2. Ivana Plavšin, PhD, Postdoctoral Researcher, Agricultural Institute Osijek
3. Katarina Šunić, MSc, Assistant/PhD student, Agricultural institute Osijek
4. Jurica Duvnjak, MSc, Assistant/PhD student, Agricultural institute Osijek
5. Kristina Lutrov, BSc., Professional Associate, Agricultural institute Osijek
6. Alojzije Lalić, PhD, Senior Scientific Adviser, Assistant Professor, Agricultural institute Osijek
7. Gordana Šimić, PhD, Senior Scientific Associate, Agricultural institute Osijek
8. Ivan Abičić, PhD, Senior Scientific Associate, Agricultural institute Osijek
9. Dubravka Hefer, univ. spec. agr., Professional Associate, Professional Associate

Project financing source

National Recovery and Resilience Plan 2021-2026 within the framework of the Program Agreement with the Ministry of Science, Education and Youth

Project budget

84.000,00 EUR

Project summary

Today’s and future world demands for cereals (wheat and barley) require the use of inter-disciplinary approach in the overall effort to improve the grain yield. Direct and obvious solution to these challenges is intersected by increasing the genetic potential of the yield trait as well as the adaptability of cereals to different climatic and production conditions. That being said, the main focal points of this project proposal are: 1. Phenotyping and characterization of selected cereal germplasm within the region of interest, also being relevant for the most important agronomic, physiology and quality traits, as well as tolerance to the most relevant abiotic stressors such as the reduced nitrogen supply and/or drought as well as the resistance to Fusarium and/or Puccinia species., 2. Forming the ideotypes of wheat and barley with aim to help the breeders in parental selection in order to optimise the traits of interest through selection process, 3. To develop and apply a breeding strategy that would involve the genotype*environment interaction (GEI), 4. To identify superior genes in said cereals that could be used in development of the breeding populations for future research and breeding work in order to secure the future gain and sustainability stemming from the breeding process itself. Results that will be reached by this project are relevant for the breeding community in a way of applying novel principles aimed to improve the ideotypes of small grain cereals (wheat and barley) with increased tolerance to climate change. Acquired results could also actuate similar research projects among other crop species and can offer the basis in application of the new methods and traits in plant breeding overall.

Project aims

The main goal of this project is to research the interconnectedness of selected agronomy, technological and physiological traits, as well as tolerance to biotic stress among wheat and barley germplasm grown under reduced and standard nitrogen supply among varying agro-ecological conditions, and with aim to select cereal genotypes that are most efficient in nitrogen fertilizers utilization that are also adapted to growing conditions in the Republic of Croatia and the region of Pannonia. Within the frame of this project proposal there are six additional goals that contribute to demands for sustainable, ecological and economically permissible cereal production by taking into account the needs of the agricultural producers. The additional goals of CLIM-CEREALS-QUANT project are therefore to:

1. Identify N efficient wheat and barley genotypes grown under conditions of reduced N fertilizer application and to make a connection to economic values obtained towards the most important agronomic and technological quality traits.
2. Identify the stay-green and physiological traits interconnected to N efficient wheat genotypes (NUE) as well as to make an assessment of variability towards tolerance/resistance to plant diseases and Fusarium and/or Puccinia species.
3. Create new variability for NUE and stay-green traits in wheat and barley.
4. Identify QTL’s for selected quality traits in wheat.
5. Disseminate and popularize the results of this project in accordance to “Open science” principles.
6. Enhance the research capacity and to develop new research teams.