Can we breed hail-resilient wheat? Insights from a hail affected breeding trial

Hail-induced yield loss threatens wheat-based food security across the globe, yet hail damage has largely remained unexplored as a quantifiable breeding phenotype. The present investigation provides insight from the variation observed in winter wheat breeding lines after a significant hail event in 2024. This investigation demonstrates that hail-induced mechanical damage and associated grain yield loss retain substantial heritable components with high entry-level (grain yield: 74.65%; hail damage score: 61.52%) and moderate plot-level heritability (grain yield: 59.30%; hail damage score: 43.49%). Grain yield exhibited moderate and significant negative correlation (r = -0.57) with hail damage score. Putative loci associated with hail response were identified across ten chromosomes of hexaploid wheat, delineated into seven quantitative trait loci. These quantitative trait loci largely co-localized with previously reported loci associated with stem strength, lodging, and spike architecture-related traits. Functional annotation further revealed enrichment of candidate genes belonging to functional categories with potential roles in stem and spike morphology, supporting a plausible biological basis for genetic variation in hail response in wheat. Together, these findings suggest hail damage as a genetically tractable polygenic trait, providing a foundation for incorporating physical resilience directly into wheat improvement programs to enhance resilience in wheat production system.