Abstract: Crop yield is dependent on crop biomass and harvest index. The increases in crop yield in the past benefit mainly from the increase in harvest index, the increase in biomass has been small. Light use efficiency is a bottleneck to further increase crop biomass and yield. Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is a widely cultivated cereal crop globally, providing energy to up to 20% of the world's population. It is necessary to reveal the intrinsic mechanism and extrinsic factors affecting the light use efficiency of wheat, which is important for improving the utilization efficiency of crop resources and productivity. Achieving high light efficient production of wheat under limited natural resources has become the focus of study at home and abroad. Here, the definition of light use efficiency, the main processes, the characteristics of light use efficiency in wheat were summarized from relevant references, showing a more significant potential to improve light use efficiency. The effects of external factors such as light, water, nutrient and tillage system on wheat light use efficiency were summarized. The results indicated that light use efficiency was regulated by internal factors such as photosynthesis at the individual plant scale, and by abiotic factors such as temperature, precipitation and tillage practices at the field scale. The current problems and the adaptation mechanism of wheat in the context of climate change were also analyzed, aiming to provide a theoretical reference for the practical research of the high light use efficiency of wheat. Future research on light use efficiency can use high-throughput phenotypic observation techniques combined with molecular markers to design ideotypes in the target environment, providing scientific evidence for crop breeding.

Key words: Wheat, Climate change, Light use efficiency, Ideotypes, Yield potential