ITEMS FROM TURKEY

CIMMYT
P.K. 39 Emek, 06511 Ankara, Turkey.

A.R. Hede, H.J. Braun, J. Nicol, and B. Akin.

THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND RURAL AFFAIRS
P.K. 39 Emek, 06511 Ankara, Turkey.

M. Keser, N. Bolat, N. Colak, H. Ekiz, S. Taner, S. Ceri, F. Partigoc, L. Cetin, S. Albustan, F. E. Donmez, F. Dusunceli, S. Yazar, I. Ozseven, I. Ozturk, and T. Yildirim.

ICARDA
Aleppo, Syria.

M. Mousaad and A. Yahyaoui.

In 1986, the Turkish Ministry of Agriculture, CIMMYT, and ICARDA joined forces to conduct research on winter wheat through the International Winter Wheat Improvement Program (IWWIP). The two main objectives of the program are to develop broadly adapted, disease-resistant, high-yielding winter wheat germ plasm for the winter and facultative wheat growing areas in Central and West Asia and North Africa (CWANA) and to help facilitate germ plasm exchange among the winter wheat breeding programs around the world.

About 31 x 10^6^ hectares of the 103 x 10^6^ hectares of wheat in low-income countries is facultative or winter wheat, of which 16.5 x 10^6^ hectares are grown in Central and West Asia and North Africa, 13 x 10^6^ hectares in China, and 1 x 10^6^ hectares in South America, north Africa, and North Korea.

International nurseries. [p. 169-170]

Germ plasm exchange and evaluation is facilitated through the yearly shipment of various international nurseries to a number of collaborators around the world. The nurseries are evaluated for grain yield potential, resistance to various abiotic and biotic diseases, and quality. Data returned to IWWIP is utilized in the continuous breeding program. Germ plasm selected by cooperators either is being utilized as parents in their breeding programs or as direct cultivar releases. The following nurseries are being distributed from the IWWIP program, and we would like to use the opportunity to thank old collaborators and invite new collaborators to enter this network of wheat germ plasm exchange.

The Facultative and Winter Wheat Observation Nursery (FAWWON). The FAWWON has served as the main vehicle for facilitating germ plasm exchange among winter wheat programs. This nursery consists of lines developed by the IWWIP program and cultivars submitted by national programs, university programs, or private companies from countries in the CWANA, western and eastern Europe, China, South America, and the U.S.A.

Most lines developed by the IWWIP program show a good level of resistance to stripe rust, although many of the lines submitted by programs where stripe rust is not a problem are highly susceptible. However, because many of these lines have highly favorable characteristics, sharing such information with all cooperators is important in order to utilize more efficiently these lines in breeding programs. Otherwise, they great risk of being discarded by breeders due to stripe rust susceptibility. We decided, therefore, to discontinue the FAWWON as it is and it was not distributed to coooperators during the 2003-04 season. Recognizing the great importance of FAWWON as a germ plasm exchange tool however, we will start to distribute it again starting from the 2004-05 season. Only cultivars that are accompanied by a description of desirable traits will be included, assuring a maximum utilization of the germ plasm. The FAWWON nursery normally consists of between 150-200 entries (15 g/entry) and is distributed to more than 100 cooperators.

Wheat Observation Nursery for Irrigated Areas and Wheat Observation Nursery for Semi-Arid Areas (WON-IRR and WON-SA). The Wheat Observation Nursery for Irrigated Areas and Wheat Observation Nursery for Semi-Arid Areas consist of lines developed by the IWWIP program. These lines have been selected based on performance in yield trials in Turkey and Syria and based on their resistance to diseases, in particular to yellow rust and common bunt. The WON-IRR and WON-SA is targeted for wheat-growing areas in central and west Asia.

The WON-IRR and WON-SA nurseries normally consist of between 100-125 entries (15 g/entry) and are distributed to 40-50 cooperators.

Elite Yield Trial for Irrigated Areas and the Elite Yield Trial for Rainfed Areas (EYT-IRR and EYT-RF). The Elite Yield Trial for Irrigated Areas and the Elite Yield Trial for Rainfed Areas consisted each of 25 entries with three replications with 160-180 g seed/replication. The entries were selected from the previous WON-IRR and WON-SA respectively. The EYT-IRR and EYT-RF nurseries are distributed to 40-50 cooperators.

Eurasian Winter Wheat Yield Nursery (EURAWWYN). The Eurasian Winter Wheat Yield Nursery (EURAWWYN), previously WWEERYT (Winter Wheat East European Yield Trial) consists of approximately 50-60 elite wheat cultivars ready for release and developed by breeding programs in eastern Europe, the Russian Federation, central and west Asia, and the U.S.A. Cooperators submit seed for multiplication to Turkey, from where the nursery is shipped the following year. Access to this nursery is restricted. Only cooperators who have signed the MTA, which follows the Code of Ethics for Wheat Workers, receive the nursery. The steering committee for the WWEERYT has to approve request of new cooperators.

The objectives of the network are to

• provide elite wheat cultivars for immediate release to weaker NARS,
• provide rapid seed multiplication of selected lines (fast seed increases for each entry (up to 3 kg seed are distributed, to allow also large scale testing already in year one),
• facilitate germ plasm exchange of elite winter wheat lines among participating institutions, and
• improve communication and knowledge exchange through scientific meetings.

Germ plasm development and cultivar releases. [p. 170-171]

Since 1994, 27 cultivars from the IWWIP program have been released in Afghanistan, Argentina, Georgia, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan (Table 1). Some cultivars have been released under different names in different countries, demonstrating the broad adaptability of IWWIP germ plasm. Cultivars originating from the same cross are marked with identical number in Table 1. For example, the cross 'YMH/TOB//MCD/3/LIRA' was released in Afghanistan in 1994 under the name PAMIR94, in Turkey in 1997 under the name KINACHI97, in Uzbekistan in 2002 under the name DOSTLIK, and is included in registration trials in Iran. Most of these cultivars have been released after having been introduced through one of the international nurseries distributed through the IWWIP program, demonstrating the great importance of international cooperation and germ plasm exchange for crop development.

Fourteen of the 27 cultivars were selected from populations that had been tested at different locations, e.g., the cultivar Djamin was selected from a cross made in Mexico, the F2 and F3 were tested in the U.S. (Oregon), and the F4- F8 were selected in Turkey, emphasizing the power of international germ plasm exchange.

Research on root rots and nematodes - Progress update of Turkey-CIMMYT collaboration from 2003. [p. 172-176]

J. Nicol, E. Sahin, H.J. Braun, A. Hede, R. Trethowan, M. van Ginkel, and M. William (CIMMYT International); N. Bolat, H. Hekimhan, B. Tunali, A.F. Yildirim, A. Kaplan, A. Yorgancilar, A. Tulek, Z. Uckun, T. Akar, S. Yazar, I. Gültekin, I. Özseven, Y. Kaya, A. Taner, S. Taner, Z. Arosoy, O. Büyük, D. Erdurmus, M. Caliskan, S. Uranbey, M. Tekeoglu, C. Cekic, H. Ekiz, and M. Keser (Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs); A. Bagci and H. Toktay (Selcuk University, Konya, Turkey); H. Elekcioglu (Cukurova University, Adana, Turkey); and R. Rivoal (INRA/ENSAR, France).

Since 1998, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs in Turkey (MARA) in collaboration with CIMMYT staff based in Turkey have initiated two key National/International projects. One of these is on cereal nematodes and the other on cereal root rots. These projects cover a range of research areas including

i) surveys,
ii) economic importance and population dynamics,
iii) identification of sources of resistance, and
iv) control methods with an emphasis on plant genetic resistance.

Below is a brief update on progress of some of these research objectives since our last report (Ann Wheat Newslet 2003, 49:147-159). We very much encourage anyone interested in collaborating with our program to contact us.

Nematode work: Yield loss caused by the cereal cyst nematode. Two separate trial locations of rainfed winter wheat production areas in Turkey included one on a farmer's field in Cifteler and the other a MARA research station in Haymana. Nematode yield-loss trials are currently in their second year. The key objective of these trials is to understand the yield loss and population dynamics of the CCN (H. filipjevi) on the common cereal cultivars on the Central Anatolian Plateau of Turkey.

The trials consisted of seven replicated yield plots with and without the application of the nematicide Temik (active ingredient Aldicarb). Twelve different cereal cultivars were investigated; three spring wheats from Australia with two known CCN-resistance genes, six representative Turkish Winter wheats, one Turkish barley, and one Turkish triticale. The statistical design was a split-plot RCBD with pair-wise cultivars with and without application of nematicide. At the start and end of the season, the initial density of H. filipjevi (and other nematodes) was recorded by intensively coring 15 soil samples/plot and subsequent extraction from one composite sample/plot. Yield and other plant parameters were taken as appropriate.

The results clearly demonstrate that CCN is economically important on rainfed winter wheat in Turkey (Table 2), with an average yield increase with Temik application of 27 % at Cifteler and 46 % in Haymana. The higher yield increase in Haymana could be explained by CCN populations three times higher than at Cifteler. Further analysis of the data showed strong significant regression equations between yield and initial density of H. filipjevi, implicating this as one of the major causes of the yield loss. Other factors likely also contribute to the yield loss because Temik is known to control soil organisms other than nematodes, however, the other main soil pathogen of dryland rot rots was assessed in both trials and considered negligible.

The results indicate that the Turkish winter wheats and the triticale Karma tested suffer yield loss from CCN, however, Kalayci barley seems to offer some tolerance (limited yield loss). Preliminary data on the hosting ability of the plants by examining the multiplication rate (final population/initial population) of CCN clearly indicates that the Turkish winter wheats and the barley are susceptible (multiply the nematode), however the Australian cultivar Silverstar, with Cre1 gene, and the triticale Karma appear to be have a level of resistance (do not multiply the nematode). Although the barley Kalayci is tolerant, it is highly susceptible from this data. This data will be further confirmed later this year after the 2nd year of trials is harvested.

This information clearly supports the need to develop integrated control strategies for CCN on the Central Anatolian Plateau of Turkey. Similar losses are likely to be experienced in the region where the nematode is known to be present and a rainfed cereal system dominates. CIMMYT and MARA Turkey continue their work on control methods with emphasis on resistance in addition to exploring other options, such as rotation and cultivation practices.

Optimization and preliminary study on Cre3 and Cre1 markers for marker-assisted selection of germ plasm to incorporate resistance. Work in Turkey under the IWWIP in collaboration with CIMMYT-Mexico has optimized the use of two PCR markers, Cre1 and Cre3 from Australia. These genes offer effective resistance to a closely related nematode species, H. avenae, pathotype Ha13, and are routinely used in Australian breeding programs. Cre1 originated from T. aestivum. Cre3 is from Ae. tauschii and now has been introgressed into a bread wheat background by Australian researchers. These markers are highly diagnostic and, if effective against the Turkish CCN populations (H. filipjevi and H. latipons), offer an excellent tool for the integration of resistance into IWWIP and CIMMYT spring wheat germ plasm.

After marker optimization, a limited study examining 110 varied germ plasm (land races, Turkish cultivars, wild relatives, and IWWIP lines) in the IWWIP program did not find either marker present. Preliminary work indicates that Cre1 may be effective against H. filipjevi and we are checking Cre3 and other known genes of interest against cultured populations of cyst nematode species from cereals in Turkey. Subject to this confirmation, MAS using F2 and F4 winter wheat breeding populations will begin on a limited scale during this season. Work continues routinely at CIMMYT-Mexico incorporating both genes into spring wheat backgrounds.

Screening for resistance to the dryland root rot complex. As reported last year (Ann Wheat Newslet 2003), after 3 years of extensive field screening for dryland root rot, we identified 31 winter wheat germ plasm lines with a good level of resistance. These materials, plus additional lines, were screened in a replicated field trial, the Root Rot Elite Line Nursery, in 2002-03 at Cumra, 40 km south of Konya, Turkey (Table 3). Field observation plots were assessed by inoculating seed with a combination of root rot species (Fusarium pseudograminearum, F. culmorum, and Bipolaris sorokinana) comparing symptom development against noninoculated plots. Resistance is a reduction in symptom development of Fusarium crown rot, which is defined as the % white heads in inoculated versus noninoculated observation plots. A score of less than 3 indicates a degree of resistance, higher resistance is inferred by a lower score.

Six lines are not included from last years list because two have been discarded and four unfortunately were not included. An additional 26 lines have been added that include both winter wheat and spring wheat germ plasm from CIMMYT-Mexico with high yield and quality characters. These winter and spring wheat lines are now entering yield trials to assess tolerance (yield loss) and also have been extensively crossed in the IWWIP program. Similarly, this winter wheat material was incorporated into spring wheat background for CIMMYT-Mexico. Fortunately, several of the identified lines are widely grown cultivars such as Gerek and Dagdas.

Dryland root rot: a brief update of survey, tolerance, seed treatment, and micronutrient interaction in 2003-04. A survey of over 450 plant samples from the plateau has implicated F. culmorum to be the main causal agent of dryland root rot. Inoculated yield trials within the mixture, B. sorokiniana, F. culmorum, and F. pseudograminearum, caused yield losses up to 45 % in winter wheats. Decreasing tolerance was found, triticale > barley > bread wheat > durum wheat. Several tolerant lines were identified. Similarly, under inoculated-field conditions, 7,167 genotypes (lines/cultivar) of bread and durum wheat, barley, and triticale have been tested, with over 200 of these being promoted for further testing (as mentioned above), confirmation, and subsequent integration into the IWWIP. These lines also were sent to CIMMYT-Mexico for incorporation into spring wheat germ plasm. Seed treatment with different fungicides increased the yield compared with the control, however, their use is limited based on their economic feasibility. Application of the microelements of Zn and Fe were found to be highly important at reducing losses to dryland root rots, however, cultivar-specific reactions were evident. The current information reinforces the use of an IPM approach to these dryland root rots with an emphasis on host-plant resistance.

Capacity building for soilborne pathogen training. The IWWIP is training Turkish scientists and scientists from the region in the field of soil disease cereal research. This training includes postgraduate training and special courses such as 1st International Soil Borne Pathogen training course conducted in Turkey in June 2003 under the coördination of CIMMYT pathologist Dr. Julie Nicol hosted by MARA Turkey. Twenty-five researchers from 13 countries took part in a dynamic, advanced course, from countries such as Afghanistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Syria, Morocco, Tunisia, India, and Uzbekistan, and were guided by high-profile, experienced scientists from Australia, France, Turkey, CIMMYT, and ICARDA.

Participants were chosen for their perceived potential for using and disseminating in their home countries the knowledge acquired in the course. They were highly motivated, and it is hoped that they will contribute to tackling soilborne diseases in the future. The emphasis of this course was on providing practical solutions to real problems encountered in the participants' home countries. This course, mainly due to the diversity and motivation of the trainees and the commitment of the lecturers, has provided a basis for effective future collaboration on root and crown rot and nematodes. Already, over 13 special nurseries containing promising resistance sources for root rot and nematodes have been disseminated to participants from the course and an International Root Disease Network has been formed. We are highly grateful to the sponsors, principally lead by the ATSE Crawford Fund, CIMMYT, MARA, ICARDA, GRDC, ACIAR, and the Kirkhouse Trust. For further information regarding the course please contact Dr, Julie Nicol (j.nicol@cgiar.org).

Concluding remarks. We believe that by conducting this highly focused, complex, and difficult research, we can clearly define the soilborne constraints in the winter wheat regions of CWANA and ultimately significantly improve wheat production and sustainability of the cropping systems in our region. The key to this will involve a breeding approach to produce high-yielding, quality, adapted germ plasm combined with multiple root disease resistances and microelement efficiencies, complemented with appropriate management practices. This work is large and encompassing, and we welcome collaboration from interested parties.

Publications. [p. 176]

• Aktas H, Bagci A, Bolat N, Buyuk O, Cekic C, Braun HJ, Ekiz H, Elekcioglu H, Gultekin I, Hekimhan H, Kaya Y, Keser M, Mergoum M, Nicol J, Özseven I, Rivoal R, Sahin E, Tekeoglu M, Trethowan R, Toktay H, Tunali B, Tulek A, Uckun Z, van Ginkel M, William M, Yildirim AF, and Yorgancilar A. 2003. Research on root rots and nematodes. Ann Wheat Newslet 49:147-149.
• Nicol JM. 2002. Important nematode pests of cereals. In: Bread wheat production and improvement. FAO Plant Production and Protection Series, FAO, Rome, Italy. Pp. 345-366.
• Nicol JM, Rivoal R, Trethowan RM, van Ginkel M, Mergoum M, and Singh RP. 2001. CIMMYT's approach to identify and use resistance to nematodes and soil-borne fungi, in developing superior wheat germplasm. In: Wheat in a Global Environment, Proc 6th Internat Wheat Conf, Kluwer Acad Pub, Netherlands. Pp. 381-389.
• Nicol J, Rivoal R, Taylor S, and Zaharieva M. 2003. Global importance of cyst (Heterodera spp.) and lesion nematodes (Pratylenchus spp.) on cereals: yield loss, population dynamics, use of host resistance and integration of molecular tools. Nemat Monogr Perspect 2:1-19.