Research activities in wheat genetics and breeding; Consultant final report IICA/EMBRAPA-PROCENSUL II

Abstract

Brazil has shown difficulties in raising grain yield per heactare of wheat if its result is compared with many other countries. There may be special explanations, but it is indeed a challenge. The Brazilian wheat breeding is just now in a transitionary stage leaving the well adapted, old more straw than grain-rich varieties for a Mexican-inspired, short-statured type. The transition process has to go via as little compromise as possible with adaptation and reliability. Correlative growth pattern for shoot and root and increased dependence on disease resistance at high harvest index appear to give problems needed to be understood and overcome. For proper guidance, production of a series of isogenic lines is suggested able to analyze and demonstrate consequences of changing different agronomic traits. In addition, proposals are given how to approach sterility and instability problems which appear to have increased by going over to the short wheats. Associated problems in barley have been pointed out as well. Breeding for race-specific resistance should be easier to maneuver, if the gene-for-gene relationship also could be used to identify resistance genes in cultivars and breeding material. Restricted availability of right kind of races will at least in the beginning need assistance from abroad. Existence of race-specific resistance against Helminthosporium ought to be investigated. The research programmes at CNPT is very shillfully handled at a very advanced level.