Genetically uniform cultivars in many self-pollinated cereal crops
dominate commercial production in high-input environments especially due
to their high grain yields and wide geographical adaptation. These
cultivars generally perform well under favorable and high-input farming
systems but their optimal performance cannot be achieved on
marginal/organic lands or without the use of external chemical inputs
(fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides). Cereal breeding programs aim
at evaluating candidate lines/cultivars for agronomic, disease and
quality traits in a weed free environment that makes it impossible to
identify traits conferring competitive ability against weeds. Moreover,
quantification of competitive ability is a complex phenomenon which is
affected by range of growth traits. Above (e.g. light) and below (e.g.
water and nutrients) ground resources also influence competitiveness to
a greater extent. Competitiveness is quantitatively inherited trait
which is heavily influenced by many factors including genotype,
management, environment and their interaction. Sound plant breeding
techniques and good experimental designs are prerequisites for
maximizing genetic gains to breed cultivars for organically managed
lands. The brief is focused on breeding wheat for enhanced competitive
ability along with other agronomic, genetic and molecular studies that
have been undertaken to improve weed suppression, disease resistance and
quality in organically managed lands. The examples from other cereals
have also been highlighted to compare wheat with other cereal crops.
