What's new

Hybrid wheat successfully harvested in Pakistan: Global Times

Ok for those who are scientists:

The common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is a poly(hexa)ploid, derived from an amphidiploidization process involving the donor species—Triticum urartu, Aegilops speltoides, Triticum turgidum, and Aegilops tauschii. The genetic diversity of the autogamous wheat is narrow, which is a major reason for lesser rate of yield gain in wheat, in contrast to rice and maize. It is desirable to encourage hybrid breeding, i.e., combining different lines into genetically divergent heterotic pools. Thus, hybrid plants are a unique combination of desired alleles produced by crossing between genetically different parental lines. Hybrid seed production in a crop requires male-sterile female parents along with a reliable outcrossing system. The male-sterile female parent prevents pollen shedding and self-fertilization, maintaining the purity of hybrid seeds. An outcrossing system enhances hybrid seed production.



For the layman:
As I had said hybrid wheat is a cross between more than 1 wheat species Aegilops is from the grass family also sometimes considered an ancestor of the wheat. While the common wheat is classified as Tricticum...So basically 2 similar plants are "hybridized" / cross bred to form hybrid wheat....

The familiar common wheat (Triticum aestivum) arose when cultivated emmer wheat hybridized with Aegilops tauschii about 8,000 years ago. Aegilops and Triticum are genetically similar, as evidenced by their ability to hybridize, and by the presence of Aegilops in the evolutionary heritage of many Triticum taxa. Aegilops is sometimes treated within Triticum. They are maintained as separate genera by most authorities because of their ecological characteristics
 
Another research article:

Global food security demands the development and delivery of new technologies to increase and secure cereal production on finite arable land without increasing water and fertilizer use. There are several options for boosting wheat yields, but most offer only small yield increases. Wheat is an inbred plant, and hybrids hold the potential to deliver a major lift in yield and will open a wide range of new breeding opportunities. A series of technological advances are needed as a base for hybrid wheat programmes. These start with major changes in floral development and architecture to separate the sexes and force outcrossing. Male sterility provides the best method to block self-fertilization, and modifying the flower structure will enhance pollen access. The recent explosion in genomic resources and technologies provides new opportunities to overcome these limitations.

https://academic.oup.com/jxb/article/64/18/5411/609438
 
Yes bur all over the world you get both organic and hybrid I don't think organic is availible in Pakistan the way it's in other countries
Well it actually is...In rural area where fertilizer is expensive...You dont add chemicals and there you will find purely organic ...

In the west, no one puts cow manure to the crops...Even the organic crops are fertilized by "organic fertilizer from companies" or if it is a small scale farm by making their own organic fertilizer through the mixture of organic waste in soil and letting it "sit" to make fertilizer
 
Well it actually is...In rural area where fertilizer is expensive...You dont add chemicals and there you will find purely organic ...

In the west, no one puts cow manure to the crops...Even the organic crops are fertilized by "organic fertilizer from companies" or if it is a small scale farm by making their own organic fertilizer through the mixture of organic waste in soil and letting it "sit" to make fertilizer

correct, but I am more concerned about the type of crop
 
correct, but I am more concerned about the type of crop
That is hard to sieve through...I wish people used organic like in the olden times coz fertilizer and large scale use of chemicals can lead to cancer...But who will listen to people like me?
 
That is hard to sieve through...I wish people used organic like in the olden times coz fertilizer and large scale use of chemicals can lead to cancer...But who will listen to people like me?

well in europe people still prefer organic. many do. Because organic stuff has medical properties too
 
well in europe people still prefer organic. many do. Because organic stuff has medical properties too
Not sure about medical properties...But it "technically" should be safe from chemicals...However, there is a little bit of a debate regarding what "organic fertilizers" actually contain (for large scale organic farms who use it)
 
These chemicals has ruined tge boned and metabolism of young generation in 70 people were so fit and look like what a chiken fever we became know all thans to biological war in our blood put by our enemies
 
type of seed i mean.
the local seed. which can be used for sowing
Organic does not mean local seeds...Seeds can be imported and organic fertilizer used or grown in organic way...Organic just refers to how it is grown not where the seed originated from
 
Non of it is 'our own'. Since the British arrived in 1849 almost everything has been introduced from abroad. To begin with we had the British begin the irrigation projects which transformed large parts of Indus Basin into green fields when it had mostly been semi-arid desert. Then places like Faisalabad Agriculture Institute began work on new seed cultivars which of course increased production of crops. The process was not static. After independence revolution in agriculture continued, By 1960s Americans had taken the lead and in Ayub's time Pakistan went through the 'green revolution' when new hybrids were introduced under US programmes. And today that continous process to improve and keep abreast of the latest technology continues. Only now it is the Chinese taking the lead.

If we want 'our own' we would need to go back to the time of Ranjit Singh and the Sikh Empire. And if we did Pakistan would starve.
I still have the old seed of wheat coming from before partition you want it can send you some.
 
Ahh you have seen NARC and that is at national level and 1 of the top institutes responsible for crop research...

Well, hybrid doesnt always mean GMO....It CAN and many a times IS the product of 2 different natural varieties...if it is GMO they would usually say so.

Research is a must ...I am not against it at all for I myself am a research scientist. What I am against is lack of research...Since we lack it we end up buying seeds from others....Over the long term it makes us dependent on them and with dependency you cant become independent!
I visited NARC Islamabad back in 2013 with a relative of mine and met a few individuals who were "researchers" but were not really knowledgeable about their own departments.
That's my take, we have been using hybrid seeds like MaxiPak and others since 90's, if memory serves me right but we didn't progress much. And so our local farmers, in the face of competition, starting looking at alternatives from other countries as our country failed to satisfy their requirements. Now Enter China, the seed maybe hybrid for all we know. Our agriculture industry and government doesn't have a general consensus on the use of GMO.
 
seed of what? and where did you get it?
Seed for wheat. I have used same seed for ages for the wheat I cultivate and many farmers also use it in Punjab. It is easily available in Punjab even you can find fertilizer freed wheat along the river beds in Punjab. The best wheat seed to eat is watan it is an old seed not available with brokers but many farmers use it for the personal wheat they keep for eating.
 

Pakistan Defence Latest Posts

Back
Top Bottom