BREEDING OF CEREAL CROPS AT DOBRUDZHA AGRICULTURAL INSTITUTE – GENERAL TOSHEVO, BULGARIA

The climate of Bulgaria is very diverse in spite of its small territory. The soil and climatic conditions in the region where Dobrudzha Agricultural Institute is situated are suitable for obtaining high and stable yields from all winter cereals. The breeding program of the institute is aimed at developing high-yielding cultivars of common and durum wheat, triticale, malting and feed barley adaptable to growing under variable soil and climatic conditions. The aim of this investigation is to present the major directions, problems and achievements of the breeding work on the winter cereals at Dobrudzha Agricultural Institute.The results were summarized on several levels:Evaluation of the risk factors for the development, the yield formation and the quality indices;Developing and study on a gene pool of the best world and Bulgarian accessions;Developing of own initial material by using the methods of intervarietal hybridization, experimental mutagenesis and other biotechnology approaches;Developing of a more efficient methodology for field and laboratory evaluation of the breeding materials;Testing of new varieties and production of certified planting material.The portfolio of the institute is quite variable. From the cultivars developed here, 36 genotypes of common wheat and 5 genotypes of durum wheat, 11 triticale cultivars and 6 winter barley varieties have been included in the National Vareital List of Bulgaria.