Biotech Studies 2004, Vol 13, Num, 1-2

IMPROVEMENT OF WINTER HARDY LENTIL VARIETIES AT HIGH ELEVATIONS OF TURKEY

Abdulkadir AYDOĞAN ,Nezahat AYDIN ,İsmail KÜSMENOĞLU ,Alptekin KARAGÖZ

1 Tarla Bitkileri Merkez Araştırma Enstitüsü, P.O. 226, Ulus,Ankara,Turkey - Low temperature is the major limitation to the productivity of lentil as winter crops at high elevations of Turkey. Therefore, winter- hardy lentil cultivars are needed for such areas of Turkey. For this purpose, Landraces were collected from Southeastern Anatolia and single plant selection procedure was used to develop germplasm with red lentil cultivars adapted to highland areas. Breeding efforts led to development and release of „Kafkas, Özbek and Çiftci‟ winter lentil cultivars ensuring significant yield increase over traditional spring types. Keywords : Winter lentil, Breeding, winter hardiness, Cultivar, Landraces, Highlands, Kafkas, Özbek, Çiftçi