WHEAT LANDRACES IN FARMERS’ FIELDS IN TAJIKISTAN: NATIONAL SURVEY, COLLECTION, AND CONSERVATION, 2013-2015 WHEAT LANDRACES IN FARMERS’ FIELDS IN TAJIKISTAN NATIONAL SURVEY, COLLECTION, AND CONSERVATION, 2013-2015 Bahromiddin HUSENOV Munira OTAMBEKOVA Alexey MORGOUNOV Hafiz MUMINJANOV FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS Ankara, 2015 Citation: FAO, 2015. Wheat Landraces in farmers’ fields in Tajikistan: National Survey, Collection, and Conservation, 2013-2015, by B. Husenov, M. Otambekova, A. Morgounov and H.Muminjanov. Ankara, Turkey The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. 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Printed in Turkey CONTENTS CONTENTS Abbreviations and acronyms ......................................................................................................v Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................vii Background ................................................................................................................................... 1 Objectives ...................................................................................................................................... 3 Survey and collection expeditions ............................................................................................. 5 Socio-economic surveys .............................................................................................................11 Evaluation of collected materials ...............................................................................................13 Current status of wheat landraces in Tajikistan ......................................................................15 Summary and recommendations ..............................................................................................17 References .................................................................................................................................... 19 ANNEXES 1 Characteristics of released or prospective varieties in the 1960s .................................... 21 2a Samples of wheat landraces collected in 2013 ....................................................................22 2b Samples of wheat landraces collected in 2014 ................................................................... 23 3a Characterization of wheat landrace spikes collected in 2013 ...........................................24 3b Characterization of wheat landrace spikes collected in 2014 .......................................... 25 4 Socio-economic survey of farmers who grow wheat landraces in Tajikistan (2013-2014) ......................................................................................................26 5 Field evaluation results in 2014 of wheat landraces (planted from bulked seed from 2013 collections) .....................................................................................27 6a 2015 nursery of Tajik wheat landraces from the 2013 and 2014 collections, sown 13 November 2014 ................................................................28 6b 2015 nursery of Tajik wheat landraces planted from spikes from the 2014 collections .....................................................................................................28 7 Tajik wheat landrace names and meanings .......................................................................29 iii ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS CIMMYT International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center DRS Districts of Republican Subordination FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations FAO-SEC Sub-regional office of FAO for Central Asia GBAO Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province (Oblast) ha hectare ICARDA International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas IWWIP International Winter Wheat Improvement Program masl meters above sea level t, t/ha metric tons, metric tons per hectare VIR Vavilov Institute of Plant Industry v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all we would like to thank all Tajik farmers maintaining local wheat diversity and for their readiness to share their experiences and plant materials. Authors are also grateful for Prof. K. Abdulamonov, Prof. U. Mahmadyorov, Dr. Z. Eshonova, Mr. S. Dav- latov, as well as other researchers and officials for sharing their knowledge on wheat land- races. Authors wish to thank Director and Deputy of National Plant Genetic Resources Centre of TAAS, Drs. M. Pulodov and Z. Muminshoeva for their kind cooperation. The following people are acknowledged for their excellent guidance in their respective regions: Mr. Marufqul in Shahriston, Mr. Ghaffor in Muminobod, Mr. Saifiddin in Khovaling, Mr. Rasulov in Fayzobod, Mr. Mavzunbek in Jirgatol, and Mr. Shohinbek and Ms. Favziya in GBAO. FAO-SEC provided financial support for conducting wheat landraces inventory and Latif Murodov seed farm provided lands for field trials. We also thank Dr. Patrick McGuire for excellent editorial input and all comments for improving the report. ©FAO/B. Husenov Figure 1. Wheat landraces field in Shahriston district vii BACKGROUND BACKGROUND Wheat is historically the most important crop and staple food source and it has grown in the geographic areas that currently make up Tajikistan since the Neolithic age (Gafu- rov 1972). Archaeobotanical studies of the ancient city of Sarazm (Panjakent district) carried out by Spengler and colleagues recovered free-threshing hexaploid wheat rachises (n = 6) from three samples. Findings also suggest that cereals were grown and processed at or near Sarazm. The wheat grains found at Sarazm are from a lax-eared form (Spengler and Willcox 2013). Except for the Eastern Pamirs, wheat is currently grown in almost all regions of Tajikistan. The crop is grown in lowest parts of the country, from 300 masl in Tajik Delvarzin up to 3,300 masl in the Gunt and Shohdara valleys of the Gorno-Bada- khshan Autonomous Province (GBAO). Bread wheat, Triticum aestivum, is widely grown in the country, while durum wheat, T. turgidum ssp. durum, is grown in limited areas. All Central Asia, including Tajikistan, was covered by many national and internation- al expeditions to study and collect wheat diversity during the last 130 years. Describing wheat diversity in Central Asia in detail, Udachin and Shakhmedov (1984) concluded that the most widely distributed species of Triticum in Central Asia is T. aestivum. Not as widely grown, but present in some farmers’ fields were botanical varieties ofT. turgidum. Tajikistan, especially the Tajik Pamir mountain region, was a major host area for wheat diversity and was an obligatory place to visit for all expeditions. The presence of various types of wheat and barley in the territories of Tajikistan were mentioned in the pioneering work of academician Vavilov (1997). Even today there is high interest in the diversity of Tajikistan crops, especially cereals and legumes. The importance and value of local wheat materials collected from Tajikistan for further improvement of wheat varieties have been described in many scientific works. Tajikistan is one of the centers of wheat diversity in Central Asia. From the beginning of the 1870s, a series of expeditions were conducted in Central Asia by Russian scientists to collect wheat landraces. Since that time, many landraces and, more recently, commer- cial wheat cultivars have been collected and used in many breeding programs as parental material for crossing. With the release and cultivation of modern production-intensive winter wheat cultivars from Russian breeders under irrigated conditions of Tajikistan, the sowing area devoted to local varieties and landraces has decreased dramatically. How- ever, some wheat landraces have been cultivated for a long time and there is still a high probability that landrace populations characterized by good nutritional and bread-mak- ing qualities can be collected. In addition to the landraces themselves, breeders