Molecular characterization of low-temperature tolerance in cereals

加拿大大约84%的可耕地位于三个草原省：阿尔伯塔、萨斯喀彻温和马尼托巴。春季播种的作物占大草原面积的主导地位，但冬季作物，如冬小麦最近出现作为补充。秋播作物的优点是在春季生长较早，这延长了生长季节，比春播作物产量更高。就冬小麦而言，低生产成本加上环境和生态效益是增加种植面积的另一个理由。然而，目前冬小麦品种的冬季生存潜力不足以持续地在极端寒冷的冬季温度下生存。 因此，开发具有改善冬季存活的品种将有利于冬小麦生产。此外，抗寒性状也可能转移到易受早春或夏末霜冻影响的春播作物，从而降低粮食产量和品质。

About 84% of the arable land in Canada is located in the three Prairie Provinces: Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Spring-seeded crops dominate the Prairie acreage, but winter crops like winter wheat has lately emerged as a complement. Fall-seeded crops have the advantage of an early out-growth in spring which extends the growing season and results in higher yields than spring-seeded crops. For winter wheat, a low production cost in combination with environmental and ecological benefits are additional arguments for increased acreage. However, the winter survival potential in current winter wheat cultivars is inadequate to consistently survive extreme cold winter temperatures. Therefore, development of varieties with improved winter survival will benefit winter wheat production. In addition, the cold-hardiness traits could also be transferred to spring-seeded crops susceptible to early spring or late summer frosts that reduce grain yield and quality.