Winter and facultative barley germplasm improvement for continental Mediterranean environments
1997
Tahir, M. (ICARDA, Aleppo (Syria)) | Ottekin, A. (Central Research Inst. for Field Crops, Ankara (Turkey))
The average yields of winter and facultative (W&F) barley (Hordeum vulgare L. subsp. vulgare) in the highland areas of West Asia and North Africa (WANA) which have a continental Mediterranean climate, are far lower than either the world average or spring barley grown elsewhere in WANA. The factors responsible for low yields are: lack of high-yielding, stress-tolerant (to cold and drought) cultivars adapted to the highly diverse and variable environmental conditions of the highlands. The International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) has developed a strategy to improve and stabilize yields of W&F barley for the highlands, based on multilocation testing and screening of early-generation material (segregating populations) to develop cultivars with specific adaptability in diverse environments. Breeding methods comprise pedigree, bulk-pedigree, accelerated breeding (single-seed descent), and the use of doubled-haploids. Selection criteria include growth habit, drought tolerance, cold tolerance, earliness, and quality (protein content and 100-kernel weight). Selected lines are early, drought tolerant, cold tolerant to -10 centigrade, have heavy seeds, and high protein content (13 percent). These are then distributed to ICARDA cooperators through the international nurseries system
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