Progress in developing facultative and winter wheat germplasm in the South of Chile

Inglés. Wheat breeding in Southern Chile started in 1938 as one of the activities of the Research Branch of the Ministry of Agriculture. It was transferred in 1959 to then created Carillanca Research Center, which belongs to the Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias (INIA) since 1965. International cooperation in germplasm exchange and knowledge has played an important role in the development of the wheat breeding program based at Carillanca. First advanced winter lines crossed in the South and selected at Carillanca entered preliminary yield trials in 1961. Winter x spring crosses that were initiated in 1959 and their advanced lines entered spring wheat yield trials in 1963. Lines derived from these crosses gave origin to facultative wheats whose selection is made by alternating generations in spring and winter dates of sowing. The environmental conditions of Southern Chile allow to achieve high yield, whose expression is sometimes limited by diseases: take-all, stripe rust, leaf rust, septoria leaf blotch, powdery mildew and barley yellow dwarf virus, and by soil conditions: acidity, high humidity or drought and low fertility. Through breeding activities grain test weight has been improved and bread quality has changed from almost exclusively soft type to direct bread making types in all facultative and half of the winter cultivars recommended at present. High molecular weight glutenin composition is considered in the crossing-program and routinely checked on all advanced lines.

Español; castellano. El mejoramiento de trigo en el sur de Chile comenzo en el ano 193B como parte de las actividades del Departamento de Investigacion del Ministerio de Agricultura. Este fue transferido al Centro de Investigacion, Carillanca en 1959, que desde 1965 depende del Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias (INIA). La cooperacion internacional en intercambio de germoplasma e informaciones ha tenido un papel importante en el desarrollo de actividades de mejoramiento. Varias lineas avanzadas de trigos invernales cruzadas en el sur y seleccionadas en Carrillanca formaron parte de ensayos preliminares de rendimiento en 1961. Cruzamiento entre trigos invernales x primaverales fue iniciado en 1959 y las lineas avanzadas resultantes entraron a ensayos de rendimiento de trigos primaverales en 1963. Asimismo, lineas avanzadas derivadas de estas cruzas dieron origen a trigos facultativos cuya seleccion esta hecha alternando generaciones entre fechas de siembra durante primavera e invierno Las condiciones ambientales del sur de Chile permiten lograr alto potencial de rendimiento