Huifeng  Sun ^1,2 , Wei  Hua ¹ , Ming Fan ¹ , Weidong Wang ¹ , Jinghuan Zhu ¹

1 Institute of Crop and Nuclear Technology Utilization, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, 310021, Zhejiang, China
2 Haiyan County Agricultural Technology Promotion Center, Haiyan, 314300, Zhejiang, China
Author    Correspondence author
Triticeae Genomics and Genetics, 2025, Vol. 16, No. 1   doi: 10.5376/tgg.2025.16.0001
Received: 23 Nov., 2024    Accepted: 30 Dec., 2024    Published: 15 Jan., 2025

This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Sun H.F., Hua W., Fan M., Wang W.D., and Zhu J.H., 2025, Cultivation of specialty wheats: opportunities and challenges, Triticeae Genomics and Genetics, 16(1): 1-12 (doi: 10.5376/tgg.2025.16.0001)

This study explores the cultivation of specialty wheats, focusing on the opportunities and challenges they present. Specialty wheats, including ancient grains, colored wheats, gluten-free varieties, and high-nutritional wheats, offer advantages such as enhanced nutritional value, adaptability to specific environments, and meeting market demands. However, these varieties face challenges such as lower yields, limited market acceptance, and susceptibility to pests and diseases. The study discusses the potential of specialty wheats in organic agriculture and the functional food market, especially with the support of precision agriculture and genomic editing technologies, which can improve yields and environmental resilience. Additionally, low-input farming systems contribute to sustainable agriculture by reducing environmental footprints. The study suggests overcoming existing barriers through policy support, innovative breeding, and market strategies to promote the widespread cultivation and application of specialty wheats.

Specialty wheat; Sustainable agriculture; Genetic engineering; Climate change; Food security