The institutes of the General Directorate of Agricultural Research and Policies (TAGEM) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry continue to work on breeding high yielding seed varieties that are resistant to climate change and promote the cultivation of registered species.

The statement of the Ministry declared that while the preparations for the “Strategy and Action Plan for Combating Agricultural Drought” continue, on the other hand, the institutes operating under TAGEM continue to work on breeding for seeds that will ensure high yield and quality even in changing climate and soil conditions. In this context, 30 varieties resistant to drought in bread wheats, 12 in durum wheats and 19 in barley have been developed by the Research Institute Directorates and provided with the producer.

Tens of thousands of materials are subjected to morphological, phenological and physiological tests at the Drought Test Center, which was established in 2010 under Konya Bahri Dağdaş International Agricultural Research Institute and ranks third in the world. To date, 19 varieties have been registered in the center after successfully passing the tests.

The registered varieties have been transferred to the private sector and TİGEM in recent years, and seed reproduction studies have been carried out. Among these varieties, in TANER and BOZKIR, yields increased by 15-20 percent compared to existing varieties planted in dry conditions thanks to their drought resistance and high water use efficiency. In quality terms, the increase achieved in TANER was 250 percent and 200 percent in BOZKIR. SELÇUKLU, which was transferred to TİGEM, will be offered to the market with higher efficiency and quality. The aim is to spread drought resistant varieties all over Turkey.