ABSTRACT
As soon as a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil the gap forms between its genetic potential and realized yield – a gap that will only widen with time. The development of traits in the future will no doubt increase genetic potential; however, the impact will be less than desirable if factors contributing to the yield gap are not identified and addressed. Known factors contributing to the yield gap in wheat include water deficits, nitrogen loss and heat stress/shock, but others exist and more will emerge. A common goal globally should be to accurately document wheat yield gaps by country/region using models and but groundtruthing those results to ensure accuracy. Australia, led by Drs J. Kirkegaard and R. Fischer, has laid the ground work for ground-truthing model outputs with a methodology that is easily replicated elsewhere. China has also reported on yield gaps and estimated that they are currently in the range of 62-71% of potential yield (Smith et al., 2016). The following trends identified are not meant to be a complete list of trends but serve as examples of anticipated innovations that could increase the yield potential of wheat.
