ICARDA CARAVAN 11

  wealth of scientific talent for the improvement of   the barley crop in Central Asia and the Caucasus   (CAC) came together in a three-center traveling workshop which highlighted potential new varieties and methods for streamlining development of new lines.
          From ICARDA's Tel Hadya and Breda stations in Syria, the workshop moved on to look at barley nurseries in Turkey, and then to the Krasnodar Research Institute of Agriculture in Russia, which has been responsible for many decades for breeding the majority of spring and winter barley varieties grown in Russia and neighboring countries.
       Taking part were Drs Baribay Sariev (Kazakstan) and Tamara Bessonova (Kyrgyzstan), both of whom have worked with barley for more than 30 years and have developed the varieties grown on many millions of hectares in Central Asia. Other barley specialists were Dr Gudrat Orudjov (Azerbaijan), Dr Huseiyn Tosun, former barley breeder with, and now Director General of, the Central Research Institute of Field Crops in Turkey, and Dr Armen Petrosian, Head of the Department of Science in Armenia's Ministry of Agriculture, and a former Director General of the Research Institute of Agriculture in Echmiadzin. They were joined in Syria by Drs B Dzumahanov (Uzbekistan) and O Kovaleva (Russia), who spent several months working in ICARDA's Genetic Resources Unit.
        In the nurseries at Tel Hadya, a number of potential new varieties from Central Asia, and from joint projects with ICARDA, were inspected. Among them were new lines that show even better performance than the spring variety 'Mamluk,' previously developed through cooperation between ICARDA and the Krasnodar Research Institute. 'Mamluk' is also producing impressive yields in official trials in Armenia, reported Dr Petrosian. After two years of testing, average yield increase over current varieties in rainfed systems is 15-18%; extra yield can rise to 22-25% in more favorable conditions.
        In the quarantine nurseries, the breeders were able to see for themselves how their own fledgling lines were performing under Syrian conditions. Some of these lines, developed in dry environments, were showing excellent promise, especially the mutant line, Donetskiy 8-1 from Kazakstan, which is rather tall but resistant to lodging, and has a large grain size.
        The results of the first steps taken by ICARDA and the CAC countries in barley germplasm improvement were seen in the Crossing Block in the Tel Hadya fields. These preliminary crosses include some special hybrid combinations using existing varieties and lines from CAC countries. Two varieties, 'Dostan' (Uzbekistan) and 'Arna' (Kazakstan) have been treated with a chemical mutagen intended to induce genetic variability in barley germplasm suitable for the driest environments.
          Workshop members were enthusiastic about a number of the varieties and new lines seen during their visit to ICARDA, and they requested seed samples of both existing varieties and early-generation material. Differences in preference were expressed; Turkey's Dr Tosun preferring barley with two-rows in the ears while six-row lines were the favored choice of the Azerbaijani specialist.
          While visiting the Central Research Institute for Field Crops near Ankara, Turkey, the group examined

barley nurseries from the national program, as well as large nurseries containing material obtained from ICARDA, including winter barley advanced and preliminary yield trials, and segregating populations. The Turkish researchers, who were particularly impressed by the cold tolerance of ICARDA lines, also asked for sets of further ICARDA material for testing.
       On arrival at the Krasnodar Research Institute of Agriculture in Russia, the major role of this breeding center became clear to the workshop members. In the last 30 years, 26 varieties of winter and spring barley have been released by the Institute, with about half of them owing their development to chemical mutagenesis. The winter barleys, 'Debut' and 'Secret,' and the spring barleys, 'Temp' and 'Mamluk,' were multiplied directly from induced mutants, while a number of others had mutants in their parentage.
        The workshop was introduced to the Institute by its Deputy Director General Dr P Vasukov, the head of the barley breeding department Dr U Gruntsev, and barley breeders Drs N Serkin, T Tikhomirova, A Salphetnikov, and O Kremzina. All were in agreement that the use of ICARDA material had helped in developing new two-row germplasm with improved cold tolerance.
          Very strong links with farmers are a feature of both the wheat and barley breeding teams at the Krasnodar Research Institute. Farmers are involved in preliminary yield evaluation of the most promising new lines and their testing in targeted environments. The barley breeding department also has contracts with 33 large farm businesses, each growing from 500 to 2,000 hectares of barley each year. New lines, including those going into official state trials, are tried out by farmers.
         By the time a new variety completes its third year of official trials when it is eligible for official recognition, seed production may already be underway on up to 100,000 ha. This is in addition to seed being produced on the Institute's own seed producing farms.
         ICARDA barley breeder Dr Victor Shevtsov, who led this first traveling workshop for the Central Asia and Caucasus countries, said feedback from the various national programs was positive. Cooperation between ICARDA and the countries taking part was now being stepped up as a direct result. Targeted crosses of barley are to be produced at ICARDA's principal research station at Tel Hadya for national programs in Kyrgyzstan, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and further two-way exchanges of material with the Central Asia and Caucasus countries are planned.

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