WHEAT

Wheat is the most important food grain and a staple diet for more than half of the world population. Wheat is adapted to a wide range of climatic conditions varying from temperate to sub-tropical and tropical regions; however, it thrives well under temperate conditions. In Pakistan, it covers around 8.6 million hectares with annual production around 23.5 million tones. In the province of Sindh, wheat is being cultivated on nearly 0.9 million hectares with an average annual contribution of about 3 million tones. Research work on weat improvement started in the 30’s of 20th century by conventional methods, but the real impact of wheat breeding was realized in the context of “Green Revolution” in the 60’s. The new fertilizer responsive varieties increased the wheat production in Pakistan from 4.5 million tones in 1964-65 to 7.2 million tones in 1969-70. The production further increased three times and the country harvested a record production of 23.5 million tones in 2006-07. The demand for more wheat grains will however continue to rise with the ever increasing population on this earth.

Realizing the significant contribution of induced mutations in crop improvement, physical and chemical mutagens have been successfully used as a supplement to conventional wheat breeding at NIA Tando Jam. The rigorous selection of viable genotypes and their screening and evaluation in different trials helped in evolving 12 high yielding wheat varieties for the province of Sindh