Physiology of Determination of Major Wheat Yield Components

Abstract

I have focused this presentation, within the 7th International Wheat Conference, in the determination of individual grain weight and grain number per unit land area. As the negative relationship between average grain weight and grain number per m2 seems largely independent of strong competition, understanding the physiological bases of the determination of each of these major components may be important to design strategies to increase yield through either breeding or management. In this presentation I have paid attention to some of the well established and some of the new advances on the physiology of these yield components. Finally I have discussed on how the new advances in the physiology of grain number per m2 may be useful in practical breeding