Harvest index is a measure of the efficiency of plants in producing grain. It is defined as the ratio of grain yield to total aboveground biomass. Harvest index is therefore an important measure of grain yield in many crops including wheat.

This investment will focus on understanding the interaction of multiple traits on wheat harvest index through the use of modelling. The modelling establishes the base-line heading time distribution for global wheat production environments and aims to determine what the optimal heading time and development traits should be in different environments and in future climates. The project will focus on high yielding environments in particular.