Wind lodging-associated yield loss is reduced by wheat genetic diversity

There is abundant evidence that biodiversity can promote crop yield by different mechanisms. However, few studies have examined trade-offs between wind lodging resistance and yield in the context of genetic diversity. Globally, wheat production practices face substantial challenges with regard to reducing yield loss due to wind lodging. Here, we conducted a field experiment in the North China Plain, and aimed to test this effect based on individual cultivars (8× monocultures) and combinations of cultivar mixtures that contained two (mixture-2), four (mixture-4), and eight (mixture-8) wheat cultivars. The results showed that there were positive relationships between grain yield and cultivar genetic diversity in patterns of mixed cultivars, which had positive impacts on wind speed, wind lodging stress in different directions, and lodging occurrence compared with their component lodging-susceptible cultivars. No wind lodging happened in mixed patterns, whereas some cultivars of monoculture lost parts of their yields due to wind lodging. Among all patterns, mixture-4 and mixture-8 had the greater wind lodging resistance than lodging-susceptible cultivars. From 2018–2020, yields of the cultivar mixture-8 was higher than those of the monocultures, although yield varied by year. In 2019, the grain yields of mixture-4 and mixture-8 increased by 3.16% and 5.84%, respectively, compared with LY502, which is the highest yielding local winter wheat cultivar. Furthermore, the yield stability is improved with increasing number of cultivar mixtures. These findings revealed that enhanced genotypic diversity of wheat population may ecologically reduce wind lodging, which can make a certain contribution to yield and its stability in intensive cropping systems. •Wind lodging stress resistance was improved significantly by wheat cultivar mixed cropping.•No wind lodging happened in mixed patterns compared with monocultures.•Both yield and its stability can be enhanced in patterns of mixed cropping.