January 30, 2013

Source: Crop Biotech Update

Several new varieties from the International Winter Wheat Improvement Program (IWWIP) were released in 2011-12. IWWIP, based in Turkey, is a joint program of the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock of Turkey, CIMMYT, and ICARDA, focusing on developing winter/facultative germplasm for the region as well as serving as a vehicle for global germplasm exchange.

The following new varieties combine high yield with resistance to yellow rust (the dominating disease in the region) and suitable end-use quality. There were 55 released varieties originating from IWWIP, which occupy an area close to 2 million hectares:

Georgia: Sauli 9
Iran: Rijaw and Tak-Ab
Kazakhstan: Konditerskaya
Kyrgyzstan: Petr
Turkey: Ay Yildyz and Eraybey

In some areas of the region, warmer winters allow to successfully grow spring wheat varieties with some degree of cold tolerance. Three high yield potential new varieties originating from CIMMYT were released in 2012: Georgia: Lomtagora 149 Uzbekistan: Matonat

Website: http://www.isaaa.org/kc/

Published: January 30, 2013