Preface

Wheat is an important crop and is a staple food in almost more than half of the world. Currently, it feeds about 40% of the global population and contributes 20% in terms of total calories and protein intake. The present production does not meet the demands of the growing population worldwide, especially in developing countries. The alarming gap between increasing demand and current production is a big challenge for scientists. To meet this challenge, either area under production or yield per unit area or both need to be increased. The increasing area seems almost impossible because of constraints like drought, salinity, water logging, and trends in urbanization. Increasing yield, on the other hand, is a potential option that is possible through adopting better management practices and advanced technologies. This book discusses strategies to produce wheat under biotic and abiotic stress conditions. Developing biotic and abiotic stress tolerant wheat plants may lead to better production. Different sections of the book discuss diverse aspects of *Current Trends in Wheat Research* with special reference to biotic and abiotic stresses. This book contains three sections including an introductory chapter in the first section that provides an overview of recent approaches for the improvement of wheat.

Section 2 discusses the status of innovations in biotic stress tolerance in wheat. It contains chapters discussing various diseases of wheat as well as insect pests of wheat crop. It also describes strategies to develop better plants having biotic stress tolerance. Section 3 discusses the latest information regarding various approaches to developing abiotic stress-tolerant wheat plants. The chapters in this section contain useful information on the drought tolerance phenomenon and water use efficiency in wheat plants. The information in this section is especially important in the context of the current climate change scenario.

The information presented in this book is of great importance for research scholars, researchers, academicians, and the general public as well as other stakeholders. I would like to thank IntechOpen for giving me an opportunity to edit this book. I am also thankful to Author Service Manager Mr. Josip Knapic for his valuable help throughout the editing process. I must also thank my research student Ms. Parwsha Zaib for her assistance in the preparation of the introductory chapter. I am especially thankful to all the authors for their valuable contributions.

> **Mahmood-ur-Rahman Ansari, Ph.D.** Department of Bioinformatics and Biotechnology, Government College University, Faisalabad, Pakistan

Section 1 Introduction
