Wheat Improvement in Iran: Challenges and Achievements

A. Ghaffari1 & M. R. Jalal Kamali2

1Dryland Agricultural Research Institute (DARI), Iran2Global Wheat Program, CIMMYT, Iran

2nd International Yellow Rust Symposium28April-1 May 2014, Hotel Hilton, Izmir, Turkey

Outlines

- An Overview on Wheat Production in Iran

- Climate Change

- Challenges, Priorities and Research strategies

- Wheat Research Activities

- Some of the Achievements

● Wheat is the major crop● Total land area is 164.8 Mha● About 18.5 Mha are used

for agriculture: 6 Mha (Irrigated field crops): 32.4% 6 Mha (Rainfed field crops): 32.4% 4.5 Mha (Fallow): 24.4% 2 Mha (Horticultural crops): 10.8%

Average Wheat Growing areas: 6.7 Mha

Irrigated wheat: 2.7 Mha

Rainfed wheat: 4.0 Mha

Introduction

• Iran is generally known of arid and semi-arid climate (94.1% based on UNESCO Approach) except for Caspian Sea region.

• The average precipitation of the country (247 mm) is about half of Asia (480 mm) and one third of the world (850 mm).

Climate

Rainfed Land area means: P/PET = 0.2 – 0.5

Agro-Climatic Zoning Map

Distribution (%) of country area by annual rainfall rates

29

2423

118 2

<150 mm

150-250 mm

250-350 mm

350-450 mm

450-600 mm

>600 mm

Ghaffari et al., 2004

Precipitation

Seasonal Distribution of Rainfall

75% off Growing Season

25% in Growing Season

1960

1963

1966

1969

1972

1975

1978

1981

1984

1987

1990

1993

1996

1999

2002

2005

2008

2011

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

16000

18000 Production Area Harvested1

00

0 h

ec

tare

s/t

on

s

2200 Kg ha-1

2000 Kg ha-1

1500 Kg ha-1

2000 Kg ha-1

0.790 Kg ha-1

Bread Wheat and Durum Wheat are grown:

- Winter/Facultative wheat: 4.1 Mha

- Spring Wheat: 2.6 Mha

Percentage of daily calories from Wheat Source: FAO 2009

Climate Change

Sharifi and Bani-Hashemi, 2010

By 2040 precipitation will decline by 9%

By 2040 temperature will increase by 0.5-1.5 oC

Water-Short Countries in 2020 and 2050

0102030405060708090

100

% W

ater

Res

ourc

e U

sed

for

Agr

icul

ture

Percent of total water resource used for agriculture in different parts of the world

21.04

24.77

21.42

11.79

4.94

1.12

0.4614.46

Distribution of Irrigated Wheat Grain Yield in Iran

2-3 t/ha3-4 t/ha4-5 t/ha5-6 t/ha6-7 t/ha7-8 t/ha>8 t/ha0-2 t/ha

Major Challenges:

• Drought is always a limiting factor• Agronomy is a limiting factor to harvesting the genetic potential

of improved cultivars• Cold is limiting factor in Winter & Facultative wheat areas• Yellow rust remains the major disease.• Septoria is growing as a new major diseases in the Caspian and

southern regions• Sunn pest is a major pest in all areas. • Common aphid has become a problem in temperate and warm

areas • UG99 is a threat• Some weed species are becoming very invasive

Major Limiting Factors

1- Agronomy: Crop management/CA (3 million ha)2- Physiology: Application of physiology in wheat breeding

programs for drought and heat tolerance. Earliness is desirable.

3- Durable resistance for wheat rusts, particularly, Yellow Rust.4- Development of germplasm resistant to insect pest, e. g. Sunn

Pest. 5- Application of biotechnology particularly Marker Assisted

Selection (MAS) in wheat breeding programs for diseases/pests resistance as well as heat and drought tolerance

6- Enhancement of the rate of adoption of new cultivars.7- Socio-economic studies on the adoption of new cultivars and

recommendation packages.

Priorities

1- Development and release of improved bread and durum wheat cultivars with: - Yield potential, yield stability, wide adaptation - Desirable agronomic traits - Resistance to biotic stresses : Rusts (YR, LR & SR), Common Bunt, Dwarf Bunt, Septoria, FHB -Tolerance/ adaptation to environmental stresses : Cold, Heat,

Drought as well as WUE - High quality for traditional flat bread baking - High quality in durum wheat for macaroni industries

2- Agronomic and wheat crop management packages

3- Breeder and foundation seed multiplication

Main Objectives in Wheat Research Programs

1- Agronomy/Crop management/CA

2- Physiology/Application of physiology in wheat breeding programs for drought and heat tolerance. Earliness is desirable.

3- Durable resistance for wheat rusts, particularly, Yellow Rust.

4- Development of germplasm resistant to insect pest, e. g. Sunn Pest.

5- Application of biotechnology in wheat breeding programs for diseases/pests resistance as well as heat and drought tolerance

6- Enhancement of variety replacement

Strategies to be followed in Wheat Improvement Program for Adaptation to Changing Climate

There are Two Main National Wheat Improvement Programs:

1- Irrigated Wheat Improvement Program by the Seed and Plant Improvement Institute (SPII)

2- Rainfed Wheat Improvement Program by the Dryland Agricultural Research Institute (DARI)

Some of the Aachievements

Bread Wheat cultivars released in Iran during 2002-2014

No. Cultivar Year of Release Institute Origin Growth Habit

1 Pishtaz 2002 SPII Iran Spring2 Shiraz 2002 SPII Iran Spring3 Tous 2002 SPII IWWIP Facultative4 Bam 2006 SPII Iran Spring5 Neishabour 2006 SPII Iran Spring6 Sistan 2006 SPII Iran Spring7 Arta 2006 SPII Iran Spring8 Moghan3 2006 SPII Iran Spring9 Drya 2006 SPII Iran Spring10 Bahar 2007 SPII ICARDA Spring11 Pishgam 2008 SPII Iran Facultative12 Sivand 2009 SPII Iran Spring13 Parsi 2009 SPII Iran Spring14 Uroum 2009 SPII Iran Winter15 Arg 2009 SPII Iran Facultative16 Rasad 2009 DARI Iran Winter17 Morvarid 2009 SPII CIMMYT Spring18 Homa 2009 DARI Iran Winter19 Zare 2010 SPII IWWIP Facultative20 Mihan 2010 SPII Iran Winter21 Aflak 2010 SPII CIMMYT Spring22 Ohadi 2010 DARI Iran Winter23 Rijaw 2011 DARI IWWIP Facultative24 Karim 2012 DARI ICARDA Spring25 Gonbad 2012 SPII Iran Spring26 Sirvan 2012 SPII CIMMYT Spring27 Ofogh 2012 SPII Iran Spring28 Tak-Ab 2013 DARI IWWIP Winter29 Cahmaran-2 2013 SPII Iran Spring30 Baran 2014 DARI IWWIP Winter31 Qaboos 2014 DARI CIMMYT Spring

Durum wheat and triticale cultivars released in Iran during 2003-2012

No. Cultivar Year of Release Institute Origin Growth Habit

1 Arya 2003 SPII CIMMYT Spring

2 Karkheh 2005 SPII ICARDA Spring

3 Dena 2007 SPII CIMMYT Spring

4 Behrang 2009 SPII CIMMYT Spring

5 Dehdasht 2009 DARI ICARDA Spring

6 Saji 2010 DARI ICARDA Spring

7 Sanabad (Triticale) 2012 SPII CIMMYT Spring

- The presence of Ug99 in west part (Winter wheat growing areas) of Iran was reported in 2008.

- In 2009 the presence of Ug99 was reported from Khuzestan in the south part (Spring wheat growing areas) of Iran.

- In 2012 the presence of Ug99 was monitored in target areas in the south part (Spring wheat growing areas) of Iran. No evidence of Ug99 was reported.

- A national research and management program for stem rust (Ug99) is carried out.

- Resistant/Tolerant wheat cultivars have been developed/identified and commercially released.

The presence of Ug99

Cultivar Ug99 reaction

Expected Sr gene (s) Area sown (ha)

Year of release

Origin GH Pedigree

Akbari 30RMR Race-specific due to R-MR reaction in field NA 2006 Iran S 1-63-31/3/12300/TOB//CNO67/SX

Arg 40M APR (Sr2+) (MR-MS Category) 3775 2009 Iran S 1-66-22/INIA66

Bam 20RMR Race-specific due to R-MR reaction in field 6182 2006 Iran S VEE#5/NAC//1-66-22

Gonbad 30M APR (MR Category) also in 2007 955 2012 Iran S ATRAK/WANG-SHUI-BAI

Morvarid 10RMR SrSha7+APR 114500 2009 CIMMYT S MILAN/SHANGHAI-7

Parsi 20RMR Race-specific due to R-MR reaction in field 5005 2009 Iran S Dove"S"/Buc"S"//2*Darab1

Pishgam 40M APR 25493 2008 Iran F Bkt/90Zhong87

Sirvan 40M APR (Sr2+) (MR-MS Category) 15 2012 CIMMYT S PRL/2*PASTOR

Sistan 20RMR Race-specific 2896 2006 Iran S Bank"s"/Veery"s"

Ofogh 10-30RMR Sr2 and Sr38 (tentative) NA 2012 Iran S GF-gy54

Ug99 resistant wheat cultivars released/identified in Iran since the launch of BGRI in 2006

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