**8. The potential benefits of tailoring flowering time of wheat in the wheat production industry**

Flowering time is a complex trait that is responsible for wide adaptation of wheat (and other cereal crops) to different environments [4, 21, 86]. This trait could be modified or tailored to local climatic conditions to achieve desired characteristics such as improved yield [87, 88]. Similar studies have been conducted successfully whereby high temperatures and drought stress during anthesis and grain filling were avoided through tailoring flowering time of wheat to local climatic conditions [42, 89].

The potential advantage of tailoring flowering time can be used to escape environmen‐ tal conditions that lead to yield loss, such as high temperatures or conditions that lead to poor wheat quality, such as rain during harvest time. This could contribute to reducing the worldwide physiological phenomenon of preharvest sprouting (PHS). Preharvest sprouting, which is the germination of seed grains in the mother ear before harvest due to humid condi‐ tions, is prevalent in wheat‐growing regions experiencing high rainfall during the period of grain maturity and ripening [90]. This results in significant losses in the wheat production industry such as the downgrading of premium milling quality wheat to feed quality [91]. Resistance to PHS is a highly desirable trait sought by plant breeders globally [92, 93]. In addition to breeding for resistance of this trait, tailoring flowering time for the production of early flowering cultivars, which will escape conditions favorable to PHS, could help reduce the problem.
