Wheat landraces in Turkey are an important genetic resource for wheat improvement. An exhaustive 5-year (2009–2014) effort made by the International Winter Wheat Improvement Programme (IWWIP), a cooperative program between the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock of Turkey, the International Center for Maize and Wheat Improvement (CIMMYT) and the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), led to the collection and documentation of around 2000 landrace populations from 55 provinces throughout Turkey. This study reports the genetic characterization of a subset of bread wheat landraces collected in 2010 from 11 diverse provinces using genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) technology. The potential of this collection to identify loci determining grain yield and stripe rust resistance via genome-wide association (GWA) analysis was explored. A high genetic diversity (diversity index = 0.260) and a moderate population structure based on highly inherited spike traits was revealed in the panel. The linkage disequilibrium decayed at 10 cM across the whole genome and was slower as compared to other landrace collections. In addition to previously reported QTL, GWA analysis also identified new candidate genomic regions for stripe rust resistance, grain yield, and spike productivity components. New candidate genomic regions reflect the potential of this landrace collection to further increase genetic diversity in elite germplasm.

Homer A., Şahin M., Küçüközdemir Ü. (2016): Evaluation of pea (Pisum sativum L.) germplasm for winter hardiness in Central Anatolia, Turkey, using field and controlled environment. Czech J. Genet. Plant Breed., 52: 55-63.Winter pea can be grown in rotation with cereal crops in Central Anatolia, Turkey. However, winterkill can occur during harsh winters. The objective of this study was to screen pea accessions for winter survival, and identify genotypes with differential winter hardiness for future crop development. The plant material consisted of 58 accessions including local landraces, elite winter cultivars, selected lines and several checks. Twenty-five of them were evaluated under both field and laboratory conditions. The rest of the genotypes were tested under field conditions. Field trials were planted in Haymana, Ankara, and in Ulaş, Sivas, Turkey during the autumn of 2014. Winter hardiness was evaluated as the percentage of surviving plants. Differential survival of genotypes was observed at both locations. On average, the survival rate was lower in Ulaş (54.8%) than in Haymana (67.8%), and ranged between 1.5 and 100%. Turkish landraces TR 79404 (88.6%), TR 79407 (88.5%) and TR 80194 (84.8%) had survival percentages comparable with the three winter-hardy checks (Turkish cvs. Taşkent (90.0%) and Özkaynak (85.0%), US cv. Melrose (94.7%)). Twelve single plants were selected from these populations for future cultivar development. The European and US accessions, included in the trials for their previously reported winter hardiness, showed high levels of winter hardiness, and could be used in breeding programs. In the laboratory, no plants survived at -12°C and -16°C three weeks following the freezing test. Screening at -8°C generated differential survival among winter genotypes. Significant positive correlations (r = 0.67-0.87, P < 0.001) were found between the test environments for the percent survival.

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Bread wheat is the most important plant species used in human nutrition and most of the daily protein and calorie needs of people are met from this plant. 13 advanced bread wheat lines, 1 candidate for registration and 6 bread wheat varieties have been compared in terms of yield, number of spikes per square meter, 1000 grain weight, hectoliter weight, plant height, protein ratio, zeleny sedimentation value and 3 different (-17,-19 and-21 °C) cold level parameters in this study. Durable genotypes were determined according to the LT50 value (the degree when 50% of the plants perish with cold stress). As a result of the observations, it was noted that lines 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8 were superior in terms of resistance to cold and line 10 displayed superiority in terms of yield compared to the other varieties. It is concluded that these lines may be suitable variety candidates for wheat cultivation in the region. Furthermore, it has been concluded that it is important to include cold test studies in breeding programs in regions like the East Anatolia Region where harsh winters prevail.