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WHEAT VARIETY MAINTENANCE and Seed INCREASE By Muhammad Boota Sarwar

To increase and achieve sustainability in agricultural production seeds of improved varieties play a key role. The production potentials set in the seed are the genetic limits of production. The other inputs like fertilizer, water, pesticides, weedicides etc. help translate built in production potentials of the seed. Plant breeding efforts are aimed at developing improved varieties with high yield potentials, better quality traits and abiotic stresses. Therefore, the new varieties must be multiplied and made available to the farming community in shortest possible time. The seed supplied to the farmers should be true representative of the variety. It has also been observed that new improved varieties, once released for commercial production deteriorated in the field and loose their high yielding and quality characteristics. This deterioration will be very fast in varieties, which do not follow any systematic maintenance and multiplication program. Generally the deterioration occurs on account of the following factors: Mechanical factors: Pathological Factors

Genetic factors This factor comprises undesired cross-pollination, spontaneous mutation and genetic shifts. Genetic shift may result from natural selection if the seed is multiplied in other than adaptability areas. Narrow selection at the hands of the breeder may also cause genetic shifts. Mechanical factors It includes a wide range of factors causing contamination due to insufficient cleanliness of farm equipment and less care during field operations and processing. Main sources include:

Field contamination with other crop seeds, other varieties and weed seeds. Containment for farm machinery, drills, tractors, threshers and threshing floors etc. Containment during processing for processing industry etc. Pathological factors Pathological contamination can result from infections with. To avoid deterioration of varieties and prolong their productive life, it is necessary to maintain varieties true to their characteristics. The objective of variety maintenance is to maintain seed stocks representative of the variety and produce every year new pre-basic seed for further multiplication to basic and certified categories. The variety maintenance can best be carried out under the direct control of the breeder. VARIETY MAINTENANCE AND SEED RENEWAL SYSTEM -Wheat Wheat varieties can be taken as pure line varieties with the plants almost homozygous, genetically pure and phenotypically alike. Maintenance of variety seed stocks true to the original characteristics is comparatively easy for the breeders. to purify and maintain the varieties true-to-type. It is the responsibility of the research institutions to maintain the variety pure as to qualifying its distinctness, uniformity and stability characteristics. For this purpose the following system is proposed. This system can be modified according to the local situation and requirements.
1. YEAR 1 1.1 Select a sufficient number (i.e. about 5000 for first cycle, subsequently 100-500) of healthy single plants of each variety. The plants should be true-to-type and selected on the basis of uniformity of their morphological characteristics. This mass selection of truly representative plants is of great importance because on it whole of the further development of seed production will base. 1.2 It is preferred not to restrict the field selection only to maturity stage but start type selections as early as juvenile stage. The plants should be regularly field inspected and very carefully examined at all the growth stages. The plants showing any variability at any stage should be rejected. At maturity, harvest the selected plants by digging out individually and keep the produce separate. The maturity is generally indicated by basal

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senescence and yellowing of leaves, testa assuming the varietal colour or acquiring brown colour of pods on their inside surface. At maturity stage, regular inspection is necessary to decide when to begin lifting. The pod yield and uniformity characteristics of pods should be examined carefully. The plants with pods not typical of the type shall be rejected and the selections with pod yield less than the average may also be culled out. 1.4 1.5 1.6 Store the seed pods after proper drying in cool dry place. Do not store decorticated nuts as these are very susceptible to insects and diseases. Before the next sowing, select again the healthy and sound seed pods of individual plants and shell them by hand. All the above operations need strict supervision by the breeder and the Federal Seed Certification and Registration Department.

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YEAR 2 2.1 2.2 2.3 Sow the selected plant seeds in single plant rows to produce plant progenies. For convenience of inspection and purification, cleanliness and harvesting the double the normal, row to row and plant to plant distance is preferred. These single lines should be thoroughly field inspected by the Breeder and FSC&RD from seedling to maturity. At any growth stage, the uniformity of morphological characteristics must be the important criterion. The off-type plants will not be rogued out but the single lines showing any variability, off-types or misbehaving plants shall be discarded as a whole. Harvest genetically pure and true-to-type plant progenies separately by careful digging up. Compare the yield and discard the low yielders. The pod and seed characteristics must also be examined before next sowing. Sow the seed of the kept plant progenies separately in small plots to produce progeny plots. These plots shall be carefully examined at all stages throughout the growth period. Discard all those plots showing higher variability or offtypes. The plots representative of the variety are kept and should be thoroughly examined and vigorously rogued out. Harvest the true-to-type plots and bulk the produce after comparing the yields. This bulk seed is the Breeders Nucleus Seed (BNS), the starting material for subsequent production of pre-basic, basic and certified seed classes.

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YEAR 3 3.1 3.2

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In special circumstances, if unavoidable, the bulk seed can be handed over to the Seed Corporation to be used as pre-basic seed but it is safer and better to grow breeders nucleus stocks and produce sufficient amount of pre-basic seed. 4. YEAR 4 4.1 4.2 4.3 Sow this bulk seed in the field as Breeders Nucleus Stocks (BNS) to produce pre-basic seed. The BNS stocks are to be kept under constant observation and purified at each stage. All misbehaving plants should be rogued out. Roguing of off-types is to be carried out very carefully. Only haulm cutting is of no use but the extraneous and rogues are to be dug out completely making sure that no pod is left in the field.

5. The wheat crop is essentially a self-pollinated crop. It has been reported that rarely a little cross-fertilisation (not more than 2%) can occur on account of high insect activity. To eliminate any danger of out-crossing, suitable plant protection measures can be applied. 6. When there are more than one variety being maintained at the same station than a minimum of 10 m isolation distance all around the seed field is recommended to keep it separate from fields of other varieties and uncertified fields of the same variety. 7. The single plant selecting for running a new cycle for the maintenance and renewal of seed are to be made from Breeders Nucleus Stocks.

VARIETY MAINTENANCE AND PRODUCTION OF PRE-BASIC SEED OF WHEAT

1Plant rows . 2Row . progenies 3Progeny . blocks

100500 50100 10-20

Strictly true-to-type plants selected from Breeders Nucleus Stocks producing pre-basic seed. To start an early cycle uniform progenies can be bulked to form BNS. Progeny blocks with representative characteristics of the variety can be bulked as BNS