Toward An Optimum Return From Crop Plants

Abstract The increasing world population and global climate change have made optimizing crop plant return both crucial and urgent. Furthermore, improved understanding of crop yield potential as well as the implementation of related crop management strategies might be important components of a new green revolution. Notably, grain size (weight) and grain number are both essential components of crop yield potential; great progress has recently been made in understanding the genetic and molecular regulation of these traits. This knowledge would be helpful for improving crop yields using traditional and marker-assisted selective breeding strategies combined with genetic modification of local elite varieties.