ITEMS FROM CROATIA

Bc INSTITUTE FOR BREEDING AND PRODUCTION OF FIELD CROPS
d.d. Zagreb, Marulicev trg 5/I, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia.

Achievements in breeding small grains at the Bc Institute - Zagreb. [p. 42-44]

S. Tomasovic, R. Mlinar, Z. Martinic-Jercic, and S. Gasperov.

At the Bc Insitute, the breeding and genetics of new wheat varieties had three aims, the creation of a scientific research program for establishing an ideotype for wheat varieties, breeding, and building and equipping a newly formed scientific organization at Botinec. The breeding work was in three phases, from 1947-56, 1956-64, and 1964-present.

Breeding phase one - 1947-56. The following varieties were released during this period: Vuka, Mura, Kupa, and Zagorka. Compared to the older varieties Ul and Prolific, the new cultivars were shorter, had better lodging resistance, improved resistance to P. graminis tritici, a higher yield potential, and production stability.

Breeding phase two - 1956-1964. During this period, a new model for wheat varieties was designed based on the following morphological and physiological criteria: early type winter wheats, short or semidwarf growth habit that are resistant to lodging, and a production of 700­750 spikes/m^2^. These wheats were to be resistant to P. graminis tritici and P. triticina and have improved quality. Varieties registered during this period include Zlatna Dolina and Sanja.

The yield potential, adaptability, and stability in production surpassed the high-yielding foreign varieties from Italy. Their morphology, physiology, and production proved to be very suitable for intensive and mechanized production in Croatia. These varieties have been very successful in Croatia and other parts of the former Yugoslavia and also in Italy and Bulgaria. They have replaced foreign varieties in production in the western part of the Croatia.

Breeding phase three - 1965-present. At the start, we breed for varieties similar to Zlatna Dolina, but that are shorter, with improved resistance to lodging, an increase in harvest index, improved flour and grain quality, high-yielding, and resistant or tolerant to powdery mildew, stem and leaf rust, Fusarium, and Septoria. Varieties released during this period include Super Zlatna, Baranjka, Nova Zlatna, Nova Marijana, Zlatoklasa, Moslavka, Miljenka, Dika, Vucedolka, Lonja, Pozezanka, Korana, Podravka, Dakovcanka, and Sana.

A new cycle of breeding work produce high-yielding varieties (over 10 t/ha) with further improvement in grain and flour quality. Varieties released during this period include Marija, Patria, Liberta, Rina, Tina, Zdenka, Mihelca, Aura, Gloria, Concordia, Lana, Laura, Klaudija, Nina, and Adriana. Table 1 lists the total of all grain varieties produced by the Bc Institute.

Spring wheat breeding (Z. Martinic-Jercic). Spring wheat breeding produces high yielding, high-quality varieties for the agroecological conditions in hilly terrain. The program was housed at the Bc Institute-Zagreb until the early 1980s and now is in the Department of Plant Breeding, University of Zagreb. The first variety was registered in 1977 under the name Goranka (SW-222). Later releases included Planinka (1977), Brdanka (1980), Livanjka (1980), Anka (1982), and Vidovica (1986).

Durum wheat breeding (S. Tomasovic). This program is one of the younger programs at the Bc Institute. Collections of durum wheats were initiated prior to 1985, when it became apparent that Croatia was in need of its own durum wheat varieties. Durum wheats had been collectively ignored in favor of the more widely distributed bread wheats. In Croatia, bread wheats have an advantage over durum wheats in being adapted to the severe winter climate of western Croatia, where soft wheat with lower kernel and flour quality not suitable for the pasta industry are grown. In the coastal regions of Istra and Dalmatia, however, a climate similar to Italy and Greece favors growing durum wheats.

Breeding materials were collected first from Hungary and France and were tested in the field at Botinec for economic traits and disease resistance. Additional breeding material was obtained from ICARDA in 1988, CIMMYT in 1989, and their joint coöperation in Turkey in 1990. Collaborations with breeders in Romania and the Russian Federation followed and material was selected based on winter hardiness and spike fertility. Material with good disease resistance and good kernel and flour quality was obtained from Italy, Chile, and Argentina. In 1992, many valuable lines were received from the U.S. This collection of durum wheat is very rich and unique, encompassing the wide genetic and geographical distribution of durum wheats.

Yearly, we select genotypes for our crossing program. Progenies from material originating in Turkey, Romania, and Russia are monitored closely because of their winter hardiness and spike fertility. Preliminary varietal trials were planted in 1991 and 1992 (7.5-m^2^ plots) and increased in 1993 in 30 x 60-m^2^ plots. Selected lines were planted in an intervarietal trial in 1994 and 1995. Two lines have been submitted for registration with the National Committee of the Republic of Croatia (Bc TD3200/92 and Bc TD3201/92) and three lines have been selected for good agronomic traits (Bc TD3199/92, Bc TD3205/92, and Bc TD3208/92) (see Table 2).

Winter triticale breeding (S. Tomasovic). Winter triticale breeding, the newest breeding program at the Bc Institute, was begun in 1990. The concept was to create high-yielding, high-quality varieties for the livestock feeding. From breeding materials collected from Poland, the Russian Federation, Hungary, and Canada, advanced lines with good characteristics have been produced. One line has been sent for registration and release.

Spring oat breeding (R. Mlinar). Breeding of spring oats was initiated in the 1950s and focused on selection of material for the climactic conditions of Croatia. The program was discontinued, but reintroduced in the 1985. Between 1985­95, oat varieties with fields above 7,500 kg/ha have been produced. Two varieties, Istra and Baranja, are distinguished by their high-yield potential and grain quality. The varieties Kupa and Mura, registered in 1995 and 1996, respectively, have been most productive in generating new, improved varieties (see Table 2).

Winter barley breeding (R. Mlinar). The winter barley program was initiated in 1965 to created genetic variability by hybridization and induced mutation, breed for resistance to lodging and winter hardiness, and test germ plasm for use as introductions or in crossing. This work was cutback after a reorganization of the institute in 1973 and only varieties of the highest production were grown, including Melior 12, Pegra, Heuters, Dea, Manon, Atlas, and Ager. Ager, a French variety released by INRA in 1963, was the most widespread variety. The program was reinitiated in the 1980 focusing on creating high-yielding varieties that were between the standards of the French variety Plaisant (a six-rowed type) and Rex (a two-rowed type) from the Osijek Institute. Many germ plasm collections were acquired between 1985­92. To date, material from over 580 varieties and lines of winter barley were used to produce 179 new combinations. F1­F10 generations have produced 7,390 genetic populations with 147 lines in preliminary investigation and 13 in comparative yield trials. Four lines are included in the National Committee of the Republic of Croatia registration trials at Botinec and breeder seed production is at 2,944 spikes/row. Four lines are in official trials in Croatia and one in Slovenia (see Table 2).

Spring barley breeding (R. Mlinar). In collaboration with the seed-production firm of Carsten INH Erhardt Eger, Germany, we have tested many new varieties of spring barley. One of these lines has been released for use in the malting and beer industries (see Table 2).

The most important quality indicators of Bc winter wheat varieties. [p, 44-46]

S. Tomasovic, R. Mlinar, I. Ikic, and K. Puskaric.

A history of Bc wheats. Winter wheat breeding at the Bc Institute has a long tradition. Initial work began at the Department of Agriculture in Botinec in 1947. Under the leadership of Dr. Josip Potocanac, a program to increase the number of plants per square unit by combining traits from Italian and American varieties was initiated. Intensive breeding work started in 1955 after establishing a genotype adapted to the climate of Croatia. Between 1947-55, Vulka, Mura, Kupa, and Zagorka were released. Vulka, the first registered variety developed by the Bc Institute, was released in 1964. Breeding for yield capacity was the most important objective between 1956-64. Zlatna Dolina, Sanja, and Marijana were released during this period. These varieties initiated the move toward semidwarf wheats. After 1965, our work has focused on improving disease resistance, yield capacity, and grain and flour quality.

Between 1975 and 2000, 70 winter wheat varieties developed by the Bc Institute were registered. We have improved the relevant traits through breeding, including yield, 1,000-kernel weight, test weight, plant height, and length of vegetative period. Material was tested in 50 trials at Botinec between 1995-99 and compared with breeding material developed in the last 20 years. After separating trials into groups according to yield, increases in yield ability were observed. In trials in the 1990s, newly developed varieties had considerably higher yields (6,917 kg/ha) compared with that of the standard check Zitarka (6,192 kg/ha). Expressed as harvest index, grain yield during 1995-99 was superior by 12.7 %. At the same time, improvement in 1,000-kernel weight increased from 39.24 g to 44.15 g. Test weights were at similar levels, while maintaining a semidwarf growth type. Length of the vegetative period (days-to-flowering from 1 January) remained similar at 144 compared to 140 days. Most genotypes were similar to Zlatna Dolina (142 days) and Zitarka (137 days). We hope that this new assortment of Bc-developed winter wheats, including material in official testing, possess agronomic traits that will be useful for wheat production both in Croatia and worldwide.

Bc wheats in production in the year 2000. Wheat breeding at the Bc Institute is aimed at developing high-yielding varieties with improved quality. Data on yield capacity of Bc varieties tested in large-scale trials at a number of location in 2000 indicate their superiority to both company-released and foreign varieties (Table 3). Overall, Bc varieties averaged 7.8 t/ha, compared to all domestic varieties (6.98 t/ha, -820 kg/ha), all other varieties (7.06 t/ha, -740 kg/ha), and the all-trial average (7.28 t/ha, -580 kg/ha). At Belje, seven of the 10 highest yielding varieties were Bc varieties, including Sana (9.49 t/ha), Liberta (9.24 t/ha), Rina (9.17 t/ha), and Marija (9.06 t/ha). The trial mean was 7.96 t/ha. At Osijek, eight Bc varieties were among the top 10 including Andrea (8.27 t/ha), Tina (8.08 t/ha), Patria (7.96 t/ha), and Liberta (7.78 t/ha). At Vinkovci, four varieties were top producers including Tina (7.74 t/ha) and Rina (7.46 t/ha). The trial mean at Vinkovci was 6.47 t/ha. Record yields were produced by Marija (10.0 t/ha) and Rina (9.8 t/ha) at the D. Miholjac (IPK-PZC) location. In the unfavorable conditions at Hana-Nasice, Bc varieties were extremely adaptable (Marija, 9.04 t/ha, and Liberta, 8.01 t/ha). Among the 10 highest ranking varieties at Kutjevo, four were Bc releases (Bc 7031/96, 9.06 t/ha; Patria, 8.94 t/ha; Marija, 8.78 t/ha; and Bc 6171/94, 8.76 t/ha). At Koprivnica, six Bc releases had yields above 8.00 t/ha from a mean trial yield of 7.09 t/ha. High productivity also has been noticed in Slovenian trials. Thus, Bc varieties seem to be meeting the needs of wheat producers and processors.

Newly developed varieties include Zdenka, Aura, Mihelca, Lana, Nina, and Prima. In addition, the variety Adriana was released for the confectionery industry in 1999. Zdenka and Aura are high, A-class varieties released in 1999. Zdenka and Divana have particularly good extensogram measurements. Tina, Lana, Nina, and Prima are typical bread wheats with good quality, extensibility, and elasticity of gluten. Mihelca and Prima have superior grain yield (8.02 t/ha and 10.06 t/ha, respectively) and are of high quality. Yields of these winter wheat varieties, as well as results from relevant quality testing are listed in Tables 3-6.

To date, 83 winter wheat varieties developed by the Bc Institute have been registered. Eighty-one of these varieties are bread wheats and two are durum wheats.