GrainGenes

ITEMS FROM TURKEY

 

CENTRAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE FOR FIELD CROPS - CRIFC

P.O. Box 226, Ankara, Turkey.

L. Çetin 1, F. Düpünceli 1, S. Albustan 1, S.P.S. Beniwal 2
1 Central Research Institute for Field Crops, P.O.Box 226, Ulus Ankara; and 2 ICARDA-Turkey, P.O.Box: 39 Emek, Ankara, Turkey;

Wheat crop and diseases in central Anatolia.

Wheat is the most important crop in the Central Anatolian Plateau (CAP) of Turkey. Diseases are among the most important yield-limiting factors. Among diseases, rusts rank first followed by common bunt and loose smut, in terms of significance. Root rot agents are encountered widely, but their significance has yet to be determined. Of the rusts, leaf rust is predominant in transitional zones, whereas stem rust is more important in northwest and eastern parts of the CAP. Stripe rust is predominant in higher elevations but can be a serious problem all over the CAP as well as other parts of the country. In recent years, the disease has caused significant concern following the epidemics of 1991 in the Central Anatolia and of 1995 in Çukurova region in southern Turkey.

Besides the Central Research Institute for Field Crops, a number of other institutions also are involved in the work related to wheat pathology in the CAP. The CRIFC in Ankara, the Transitional Zone (recently named 'Anatolian') Agricultural Research Institute in Eskipehir, and the International Bahri Daodap Winter Cereals Improvement Center in Konya have responsibilities for crop improvement. These institutes conduct wheat pathology research mostly based on disease resistance breeding. Work on wheat crop protection is done by the Department of Crop Protection of Ankara University and the Crop Protection Research Institute in Ankara.

Emphasis of the wheat pathology work at CRIFC.

Activities on wheat pathology at CRIFC are operated by the Department of Plant Diseases and Resistance Breeding of the Institute, in collaboration with other departments such as Department of Plant Breeding, Agronomy and Seed Production, and also other national and international institutions such as ICARDA and CIMMYT.

The pathology activities at CRIFC, which started with its establishment in 1928, have been intensified in the last few decades. The work emphasises a systematic evaluation of wheat germplasm for resistance to major diseases, especially stripe rust. Trap nurseries also have been grown in various locations to detect the virulence pattern in the rust populations. Roving surveys have been undertaken frequently to monitor the occurrence and significance of diseases.

Activities have involved national and international collaboration for many years. However, following the formal establishment of the collaborative pathology subproject between CRIFC and ICARDA in 1994, resources and experience of both institutions have been brought together to further strengthen wheat pathology activities in the CAP. This initiative has enhanced the efficiency of pathology input to the national wheat improvement program and provided much needed pathology support to the International Winter Wheat Program (IWWIP) jointly operated by Turkey-CIMMYT-ICARDA.

Field evaluations for disease resistance.

Field evaluations are at the research farm of CRIFC in Ikizce-Haymana, 45 km southwest of Ankara at 1,150 m asl, which is characterized by severe winters, mild springs and autumns, and hot summers. The annual rainfall is about 400 mm. Limited field work also is conducted at the Yenimahalle Campus (850 m asl) of CRIFC in Ankara. The nurseries are sown in October, and a check entry is placed after every 10 entries. Locally collected inocula are used to ensure good and uniform disease development.

The germplasms included in the 1996-97 evaluation work were received from 1) the breeding program of CRIFC; 2) other national research institutes involved in winter wheat breeding; 3) the IWWIP; 4) the ICARDA germplasm program; 5) the Seed Certification and Registration Center, Ankara; and 6) various institutions, programs, or networks such as Turkish Grain Board, and the WANA Dryland Durum Wheat Network. As a result, a considerable amount of germplasm has been identified, and Resistance Pools have been established for rusts, common bunt, and loose smut. Resistance of the germplasm in these pools also is tested continuously for duarability.

Evaluations are done on both winter and facultative bread and durum wheat. A total of 137,147 entries have been evaluated so far in the period 1972-96 (Table 1). Of these, 76,353 were screened for rusts, 44,768 for common bunt, and 16,026 for loose smut. In the 1996-97 crop season, a total of 44 nurseries was evaluated for resistance to wheat diseases (Table 2). These nurseries included segregating materials, preliminary yield trials, advanced yield trials, introductions from various sources, and germplasm pool and originated from CRIFC, other national research institutes and organizations, IWWIP, and ICARDA. In this study, 10,747 entries from 44 nurseries were evaluated mainly for rusts, but some were evaluated for common bunt and loose smut. Of these, 2,656 entries were selected for their good performance against diseases and for further exploitation.

 

 

Virulence pattern of the wheat rusts.

The virulence pattern of wheat rusts is studied through a trap nursery consisting of 100 entries including lines with known resistance genes for stripe rust, leaf rust, and stem rust; susceptible and resistant checks; and five nationally registered cultivars. Nurseries are distributed to 10 research institutes in the country to monitor occurrence of the rusts and detect new virulences.

The study in 1997 revealed that the stripe rust population was virulent for Yr2, Yr6, Yr7, Yr9, YrA+ (Sonalika), and YrA+ (Anza) and Gaby around Ankara. The detected virulence pattern seems to have remained similar over the last 3 years.

Disease surveys.

A disease survey was conducted in the northeast part of the CAP along the Ankara-Kyrpehir-Kayseri-Sivas-Çorum Ankara route in 1997. Although the the survey was a little late, it was possible to record stripe rust severities of 90S and of stem rust severities of 60S in some locations. This survey indicated that stem rust, in addition to stripe rust, also could be significant in the area. Recent studies also showed that root rots, in the form of common/dryland root and foot rot, are widespread in the CAP and deserve greater attention. Attempts are being initiated to establish more detailed studies in this field.

Participation in training activities.

The group (Mr. L.Cetin and Ms. S. Albustan) provided training in wheat rusts through lectures, practicals, and field visits to the five long-term trainees from Central Asia and Transcaucasia in the IWWIP, May-August, 1997.

Dr. F. Dusunceli participated in the Task Force meeting of the CGIAR Center-wide Initiative on Integrated Management of Soilborne Pathogens held at ICARDA, Aleppo, Syria, 22-26 May, 1997.

Publications.

Cetin L, Dusunceli F, Albustan S, Beniwal SPS, Braun HJ, and Morgounov A. 1996. Performance of 4th and 5th FAWWON for rust resistance in Ankara, Turkey. Cereal Rusts and Powdery Mildews Bull 24:241.

Cetin L, Dusunceli F, Albustan A, Eser V, and Beniwal SPS. 1996. Evaluation of the Turkish winter and facultative wheat germplasm for rust resistance in Central Anatolia. Cereal Rusts and Powdery Mildews Bull 24:240.

Dusunceli F, Cetin L, Albustan S, and Beniwal SPS. 1996. Occurrence and impact of wheat stripe rust (Puccinia striiformis) in Turkey in 1994/95 crop season. Cereal Rusts and Powdery Mildews Bull 24:309.

Makkouk KM, Bertschinger L, Conti M, Bolat N, and Dusunceli F. 1996. Barley yellow striate mosaic rhabdovirus naturally infects cereal crops in the Anatolian Plateau of Turkey. J Phytopath 144:413-415.

Mamluk OF, Cetin L, Braun HJ, Bolat N, Bertschinger L, Makkouk KM, Yildirim AF, Saari EE, Zencirci N, Albustan S, Cali S, Beniwal SPS, and Dusunceli F. 1997. Current status of wheat and barley diseases in the Central Anatolian Plateau of Turkey. Phytopath Medit 36:167-181.

INTERNATIONAL WINTER WHEAT IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM - IWWIP

P.K. 39 Emek 06511 Ankara, Turkey.

H.-J. Braun 1, A.I. Morgounov 1, H. Ketata 2, S.P.S. Beniwal 2, L. Cetin 3, H. Ekiz 3, V. Eser 3, M. Keser 3, M. Kanbertay 3, and N. Zencirci 3.
1 CIMMYT, 2 ICARDA, and 3 Cereal Improvement Program, Turkey.

Growing conditions.

Turkey. The climate was highly variable in 1996-97. Although most of the Central Anatolian Plateau received good, well distributed rains, Konya suffered from a severe drought until May. On 26 May, hail destroyed the nurseries in Cumra, the main yield-testing site for the IWWIP. The winter was relatively mild, and no severe winterkill was observed.

FAWWON (Facultative and Winter Wheat Observation Nursery) and germplasm distribution.

The results of the 5th FAWWON (grown in 1995-96 crop season) were analyzed and distributed to cooperators in March, 1997. Data were returned from 88 cooperators. The 6th FAWWON consisted of 200 lines and was sent to 170 coöperators during the 1996-97 crop season. Beginning with the 1997-98, season, two nurseries were added to the list of internationally distributed germplasm. These are the Winter Wheat Observation Nursery for Irrigated Environments (WWONIR) and the Winter Wheat Observation Nursery for Semiarid Environments (WWONSA). Both nurseries are established as additions to the FAWWON and primarily target the West Asia and North Africa (WANA) region. In 1997, the international nurseries were distributed from Turkey strictly according to written request from interested wheat researchers. This policy will continue in the future.


Results of the 1st Facultative and Winter Wheat Elite Yield Trial.

The 1st Facultative and Winter Wheat Elite Yield Trials (FWWEYT) for rainfed (RF) and irrigated (IR) areas were initiated in 1995 as regional yield trials distributed mainly to countries in WANA, Central Asia, and Transcaucasia. The trials had three major objectives 1) to make elite winter wheat germplasm available to the national programs for utilization in breeding, 2) to identify superior wheat genotypes with broad adaptability demonstrated on a regional basis, and 3) to evaluate the 'G x E' interaction. The FWWEYT-RF and FWWET-IR were distributed to 20 cooperators each and consisted of 24 entries plus one local check. Data were returned by 14 cooperators for the FWWEYT-RF and by 16 institutions for the FWWEYT-IR.

A number of lines performed better than the respective local checks. The results from the 1st Elite Yield Trial indicate that the highest yielding lines from each trial do possess some degree of broad adaptability. However, they did not demonstrate stable performance across all the environments (Tables 1a and 1b).

 

Mean winterkill (%) across 19 locations of cultivars in 5th FAWWON derived from 'winter x spring' crosses. Left of the black bar are cultivars with winter growth habit, to the right cultivars with spring growth habit. The exceptions within each group are marked with black bars.

 

Winter survival observations.

The majority of the germplasm developed by the IWWIP has only moderate winter hardiness. This is partly due to the selection environment and partly due to the fact that 'spring x winter' crosses are emphasized. The mean winter survival ratings of the 5th FAWWON entries across 19 locations of cultivars with winter, facultative, and spring habits were 77 %, 63 %, and 38 %, respectively. Growth habit, evaluated at Ankara, Aleppo, and Moscow, tended to separate entries with high winter survival from those with low survival (Fig. 1). Four entries did not follow this separation. Two entries with spring habit, 'KS82142 / Seri' and 'CO724377 / Nac // Seri', had winter survivals of 85 % and 76 % respectively, which are comparable to that of winter wheats. Two other entries, both from Iran, were classified as winter wheats but exhibited low winter hardiness. The highly significant correlation between growth habit and mean winter survival (r = 0.77**) suggests that breeding programs utilizing 'spring x winter' crosses to develop wheat cultivars for areas that require medium winter hardiness can use growth habit as selection criteria, particularly in those years when mild winters do not differentiate among winter-tender and winter hardy cultivars.

Germplasm from the Ukraine, Hungary, and the Great Plains of the USA, had the lowest average winterkill ratings of about 20 %. Entries originating from programs in Bulgaria, Romania, and the IWWI,, which includes lines from Mexico, Oregon (USA), and Turkey, had on average a higher winterkill rate across locations. However, the winterkill rates for the best entry within each group of origin were very similar, indicating that all programs had developed winter-hardy cultivars. The most winter-hardy entry across all locations was the check cultivar Bezostaya with an average winterkill of 8 %, followed by the 'local check' with 9 %. However, other entries showed winter survival ratings equal to or better than Bezostaya at each location. No entries were tolerant under all conditions or environments. The wide adaptation of Bezostaya may be partly due to its ability to cope with the wide range of stresses occurring in cold environments, whereas other genotypes are adapted more specifically to cold stresses occurring in either humid or dry areas.

Pathology.

Yellow rust remains the most important disease in the WANA. Entries were tested at Ankara, Eskisehir, and Syria. Of the 3,200 lines screened, about 2,000 had a reading of 40 or less and 1,400 had a reading less than 2. The resistance in many entries still may be based on major genes. Efforts have begun to identify the genes in Yr resistant parents in order to further diversify the Yr genes employed. Selection for Yr18 also is emphasized.

Results from the breeding nurseries.

Hail in May during the 1996-97 breeding cycle at Cumra, Turkey, caused severe damage to breeding plots, and though no germplasm was lost, the yield assessment was impossible. As a result, the selection in advanced nurseries was based on yield data from Konya, Eskisehir, and Syria. The highest yielding lines in 1996-97 season were:

• HATUSHA / KAUZ // TRK13 CIT89100T
• YE2453 // 1D13.1/MLTI CWH900859
• PJ / HN4 // GLL /3/ SERI SWM866462
• ATAY / KAUZ CMSW90M336
• OK82282 // BOW / NKT CMSW90M128
• VORONA / HD2402 SWM17702
• 362K2.111 /6/ NKT /5/ TOB / CNO67 // TOB / 8156 /3/ CAL // CMSW90M476
• BB / CNO67 /4/ TRM
• 1D13.1 / MLT SWM12174
• 88 ZHONG 257 // CNO79 / PRL CMSW90M419
• LINFEN875072 / KAUZ SWM89Y186H
• CNO / GLL // BACA /3/ VONA /4/ 885-K1-1 CIT90019
• NAI60 / HNVII // BUC /3/ F59.71 / GHK SWO791095
• TAST / SPRW // BLL /7/ SOTY / SUT // LER /4/ 2*RFN /3/ FR ICWH900747 // KAD / GB /5/ TMP64..
• SDY / OK78047 /4/ NAI60 / HN7 // BUC /3/ F59.71 / GHK CMWW90M141 /5/ SAULESKU #17
• ID800994.W / FALKE SWM89Y165H
• 494J6.11 // TRAP#1 / BOW CMSW90M200

The majority of these lines originated from 'spring x winter' or 'spring x winter x winter' crosses, demonstrating the importance of the spring wheat gene pool for winter wheat improvement.


Training and visiting scientists.

Mr. Bashir Ahmed from NWFP/Pakistan was trained on FWW improvement at ICARDA for 3.5 months, and also visited Turkey for 2 weeks.

Five researchers from Central Asia, Ms. Calal Bayramova, Azerbaijan; Mrs. Aiman Absattaroa, Kazakstan; Dr. Mira Djunusova, Kirghystan; Mr. Khudaiberdi Khadjiev, Turkmenistan; and Mr. Nemad Umirov, Uzbekistan attended a 3 month course on wheat improvement. Eskisehir served as the base. During these 3 months, aside from working in the field, they visited Research Institutes in Izmir, Ankara, Konya; several other institutions (mills, a malt factory, a state farm, and agricultural machinery companies); and ICARDA. At ICARDA, they had lectures on wheat improvement, seed health, pathology, entomology, virology, and biotechnology. The course was considered by all as a success despite the limits in the English language of the participants. A good initial knowledge of Turkish of all five was very useful, and they returned home now rather fluent in Turkish.

Varieties released in Turkey.

The bread and durum wheat released in Turkey since 1994 or cultivars with permission for seed multiplication are listed in Table 2.

Publications.

Braun H-J. 1997. Winter hardiness of bread wheat derived from Spring x Winter Crosses. Acta Agron Hungarica 45(3):317-327.

Braun H-J, Altay F, Kronstad WE, Beniwal SPS, and McNab A. 1997. Wheat: Prospects for Global Improvement. Proc 5th Inter Wheat Conf, 10-14 June 1996, Ankara, Turkey. Kluwer Academic Publishers, the Netherlands. 616 p.

Cakmak I, Derici R, Torun B, Tolay I, Braun H-J, and Schlegel R. 1997. Role of rye chromosomes in improvement of zinc efficiency in wheat and triticale. In: Plant nutrition for sustainable food production and environment (Endo TR et al. eds). Kluwer Academic Publishers, the Netherlands. Pp. 237-241.

Morgounov A and Braun H-J. 1997. Global distribution of airborne winter wheat pathogens based on observation of varieties with known resistance genes. In: Approaches to improving disease resistance to meet future needs: Airborne pathogens of wheat and barley. 11-13 November, 1997, Prague, Czech Republic, pp. 20-23 (Abstract).

Mamluk OF, Cetin L, Braun H-J, Bolat N, Bertschinger L, Makkouk KM, Yildirim AF, Saari EE, Zencirci N, Albustan S, Cali S, Beniwal SPS, and Ducunceli F. 1997. Current status of wheat and barley diseases in the Central Anatolian Plateau of Turkey. Phytopath Medit 36:167-181.

 

THRACE AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE
P.O. Box 16, Edirne, Turkey.

Variety development activities at the Thrace Agricultural Research Institute during the 1996­97 growing season.

Metin Babaoglu.

The national winter cereals development project was initiated in 1970 throughout Turkey. The Thrace Agricultural Research Institute joined this project in the same year. Our aim is to develop new wheat cultivars that are high yielding, of good quality, widely adapted, and have resistance to biotic (leaf rust, foot-root, and crown rot) and abiotic stresses (cold and drought). As a part of the project to reach the aforementioned goals, all the material from CIMMYT, ICARDA, and other foreign and national institutions are screened for desirable characteristics. Generally, material from CIMMYT has good resistance to leaf diseases. On the other hand, Bulgarian, Hungarian, and Romanian materials have a higher yielding ability. In our crossing program, we try to make all possible crosses to combine the most desirable characters in one cultivar.

For the purposes mentioned, in the 1996-97 growing season, materials in the observation nurseries were screened for plant height, tillering type and capacity, plant sanitation, earliness, lodging, and yield. After screening, 24 entries were found suitable for our region (see Table 1).

Plant height and earliness are emphasized in screening and selection. The Thrace region has an average annual rainfall of 600 mm, but the distribution is uneven with fluctuations occurring from year to year. Especially during heading and grain filling (late April and May), the lack of rainfall may cause drought problems. In other years, there may be too much rainfall during the same period causing a lodging problem. Short cultivars (60-70 cm) with be affected by drought, and excessive rainfall will cause tall cultivars (110-120 cm) to lodge. Because predicting rainfall during this critical period is difficult, we select materials that are 80-90 cm in height but not more than 100 cm, the ideal height for the Thrace region. Early types are desirable for probable drought resistance, but how early is the question. The last frost usually is expected during the last week of April. All selected material must head after this date, because heading or flowering before the last frost is detrimental.

One other criterion used in evaluating screening nurseries is plant sanitation. Because leaf rust, foot root, crown rot, and common bunt are the most destructive diseases in Thrace, selected materials should be resistant to these diseases. Selections for all diseases are made under natural field conditions. Artificial inoculation before selection is uncommon because of the lack of facilities.

Crosses with desirable plant types in the screening nurseries also are made during the selection process. In addition to our own material, crosses with CIMMYT materials with good resistance to leaf diseases and the eastern European (Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania) material with high yieding ability are made. During the 1996-97 growing period, we made 132 crosses, both single and top crosses (see Table 2). In these crosses, Kate A-l, Prostor, and Pehlivan (TE 2376-6T-lT-3T-02) were the most used cultivars. These cultivars also are grown widely in the Thrace region.

Selections also were made in segregating populations from crosses made in previous years. More than 50 new lines were selected and harvested in bulk. These lines now are in regional yield trials in four different locations throughout the region. We hope that at least a few will be leading wheat cultivars in the r