PAPER PRESENTED AT INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON INCREASING WHEAT YIELD POTENTIAL, CIMMYT, OBREGON, MEXICO, 20–24 MARCH 2006 Association of source/sink traits with yield, biomass and radiation use efficiency among random sister lines from three wheat crosses in a high-yield environment

For many years yield improvement reported in wheat was associated with increased dry matter partitioning to grain, but more recently increases in above-ground biomass have indicated a different mechanism for achieving yield potential. The most likely way of increasing crop biomass is by improving radiation use efficiency (RUE); however there is evidence that sink strength is still a critical yield limiting factor in wheat, suggesting that...