Biotech Studies 2016, Vol 25, Num, 1     (Pages: 304-310)

Maize Research of Public Sector in Turkey

Rahime CENGİZ

1 Mısır Araştırma İstasyonu Müdürlüğü, Sakarya DOI : 10.21566/tarbitderg.280251 - Maize plant is still among the six cereals that feed the world`s population. It is the most widely produced cereal in the world thanks to its versatile use, adaptation capability and yield. Despite the fact that 5.95 million tons of maize was produced in Turkey in 2014, consumption coverage was 90%. Hybrid maize breeding in Turkey started in 1950. Through breeding programs carried out to present have been developed valuable populations, a large number of varieties and inbred lines. Seed production rights of varieties were transferred to the private sector with the aim to reach more farmers. Various maize research projects of public institutes engaged in maize improvement were consolidated under a single project and National Maize Integrated Product Management Project (NMIPMP) was initiated. NMIPMP covers the subjects of breeding, abiotic and biotic stress tolerance breeding, biotechnology, agronomy, plant health, registration, seed, industry and agricultural economics and enhancemenet of germplasm in Turkey. Collaborative variety development has been put into practice by means of active exchange of inbred lines developed by various public research institutes. Inoculation work is also carried out for identifying inbred lines and varieties with resistance to Fusarium moniliforme, Maize dwarf mosaic potyvirus (MDMV) and Sugarcane mosaic potyvirus (SCMV). Determination of high temperature and drought tolerance inbred lines of work are carried out. Genetic distance detection, purity analysis and marker-asisted selection are being conducted using SSR markers in recent years. Keywords : Maize, breeding, biotechnology, abiotic stress, biotic stress