The National Center for Sustainable Agriculture Research and Development (Estidamah) has successfully developed two new wheat lines that have shown promising results in productivity and irrigation water-use efficiency during initial field trials. This research achievement aims to enhance the production of one of the Kingdom’s most strategic crops and support food security in Saudi Arabia.
According to the preliminary trial results, the first line achieved a yield of 9.8 tons per hectare, representing a 40% increase compared with the most widely cultivated commercial wheat variety in the Kingdom, while also reducing irrigation water use by 15%. The second line recorded a yield of 8.6 tons per hectare, an increase of 23% compared with the commercial benchmark, while reducing irrigation water use by 24.2%.
Both lines demonstrated positive agronomic characteristics, including high productivity, lodging resistance, and suitability to local growing conditions. These characteristics enhance their potential to improve the efficiency of wheat production and reduce crop losses.
Research trials are still ongoing to verify the stability of the two lines’ performance and evaluate their production efficiency under different environmental and agricultural conditions, in addition to completing the necessary scientific and technical stages of the project.
The development of the two lines is part of the Center’s Strategic Crops Development Project, which focuses on increasing the productivity of crops linked to food security, improving resource-use efficiency, and developing agricultural lines suited to the environmental and production conditions of the Kingdom.
The Center relied on nuclear technologies and modern breeding programs to develop the two lines, with the aim of creating genetic resources that combine high productivity, water-use efficiency, and suitability to local production conditions. This contributes to strengthening the production capacity of wheat cultivation and narrowing the gap between domestic production and national demand.
The development of these two wheat lines represents an important advancement in national agricultural research aimed at producing more efficient and sustainable wheat varieties. It also highlights the role of research and innovation in supporting domestic production and building a more secure and sustainable food system.