Soybean, chikpean and lentil germplasm protection and improvement in Georgia
Korakhashvili, A.
Soybean, chikpean and lentil germplasm protection and improvement in Georgia - Tbilisi (Georgia) CIMMYT : 2004 - p. 391-392 - Printed
Abstract only
The cultivation of winter grain legumes, like chickpea, lentil and fababean has been dramatically decreased in Georgia during the last 2 centuries. However, if we refer to the 30 century history of Georgian statehood, the major food of the Georgian population consisted of chickpea, lentils and faba beans. The Georgian peasant knew well the value of these crops and he sowed them, together with the wheat in crop rotations. The used those legume crops for feeding his family and livestock. It should be stated here that the history of using other crops in Georgia, for example maize and soybeans counts only 280 and l30 years, correspondingly. At the beginning of the 1900s approximately 47000 ha of grain legumes were cultivated, 82% of which were in the eastern part of Georgia in rotation with winter wheat. Later, during the Soviet era, the cultivation of legume crops showed a continuous decline, until it reached to 26000 ha (1991), 97% of which were only spring grain legumes -soybean and haricot. Georgia Agrarian State University (GASU) has been engaged in food legumes collection and breeding over 80 years. The National agricultural research system of Georgia made affords to increase production of food legumes both vertically (through high inputs, including irrigation) and horizontally (increasing land area). Recently, however, national program scientists and the research administrators in Georgia have realized that diversification is needed in a legume-based, sustainable cropping system. During last 20 years, a group of scientists and post-graduate students of GASU have been carrying out a wide scale legume preservation program. This program is implemented mainly through the financial support of International institutions such as GTZ, ACDI/VOCA, ICARDA, WB, CGIAR, etc. As a result of such activity, we have collected 690 samples of food and feed legumes as follows: soybean- 68, faba been 24, chickpea- 44, lentil- 36, Pisum- 7, haricot beans 83, as well as Trifolium-89, Astragalus-22; Medicago-88, Onobrychis- 46, Melilotus-19, Lupinus- 16, Galega- 19; Vicia-112; Lathyrus-17. A database has been established using special software kindly provided by ICARDA. The Georgian genetic-resource program for grain legumes is committed to collect, evaluate, document and renew the agro-biodiversity and use it for genetic enhancement of legumes. Legume diversity occurs in 2 forms -wild relatives of legume species and farmer selected crop landraces. The last ones are the result of thousand of years of risk- averse selection by the farmers themselves, but the wild relatives are equally important, as they are constantly adapting in order to survive changes in climate, soil, pollution levels, exposition and other aspects of their environment. As a result of such studies during recent 12 years with local and introduced germplasm, 2 of perspective varieties of chickpea -"Zedazeni" and "Pablo" 2 of lentils -"Shiraki" and "Eliksiri" and 2 soybeans-"Tvalkhatula" and "Bi-2", were selected and released in 3 different soil and climatic zone conditions of Georgia in 2000. Now, super-elite and elite seeds of 4 new varieties are being multiplied and distributed in neighboring countries -Armenia and Azerbaijan. From all of this material we have developed in-situ conservation techniques. Simulated in-situ conservation experiments are under way at our station in Gardabani district. A large number of high- yield lines were developed through hybridization and selection and released for general cultivation in Georgia. Owing to the breeding work carried out in the last l2 years, new varieties were added to the few ones previously registered in Georgian National Official Bulletin # 1,2001 , for "Protection of new Varieties of Plants": 2 new varieties of chickpea, 2 new varieties of lentil and 2 new varieties of soybeans. At the moment the National Variety Bulletin list includes 2 varieties of faba bean, 4 new varieties of chickpea, 3 new varieties of lentil, and 12 varieties of soybeans.
English
Chickpeas
Cropping systems
Farm area
Feeding
Food production
Georgia
Germplasm conservation
Grain legumes
Lentils
Sowing
Soybeans
Genetic resources
CIMMYT
633.1147 / BED
Soybean, chikpean and lentil germplasm protection and improvement in Georgia - Tbilisi (Georgia) CIMMYT : 2004 - p. 391-392 - Printed
Abstract only
The cultivation of winter grain legumes, like chickpea, lentil and fababean has been dramatically decreased in Georgia during the last 2 centuries. However, if we refer to the 30 century history of Georgian statehood, the major food of the Georgian population consisted of chickpea, lentils and faba beans. The Georgian peasant knew well the value of these crops and he sowed them, together with the wheat in crop rotations. The used those legume crops for feeding his family and livestock. It should be stated here that the history of using other crops in Georgia, for example maize and soybeans counts only 280 and l30 years, correspondingly. At the beginning of the 1900s approximately 47000 ha of grain legumes were cultivated, 82% of which were in the eastern part of Georgia in rotation with winter wheat. Later, during the Soviet era, the cultivation of legume crops showed a continuous decline, until it reached to 26000 ha (1991), 97% of which were only spring grain legumes -soybean and haricot. Georgia Agrarian State University (GASU) has been engaged in food legumes collection and breeding over 80 years. The National agricultural research system of Georgia made affords to increase production of food legumes both vertically (through high inputs, including irrigation) and horizontally (increasing land area). Recently, however, national program scientists and the research administrators in Georgia have realized that diversification is needed in a legume-based, sustainable cropping system. During last 20 years, a group of scientists and post-graduate students of GASU have been carrying out a wide scale legume preservation program. This program is implemented mainly through the financial support of International institutions such as GTZ, ACDI/VOCA, ICARDA, WB, CGIAR, etc. As a result of such activity, we have collected 690 samples of food and feed legumes as follows: soybean- 68, faba been 24, chickpea- 44, lentil- 36, Pisum- 7, haricot beans 83, as well as Trifolium-89, Astragalus-22; Medicago-88, Onobrychis- 46, Melilotus-19, Lupinus- 16, Galega- 19; Vicia-112; Lathyrus-17. A database has been established using special software kindly provided by ICARDA. The Georgian genetic-resource program for grain legumes is committed to collect, evaluate, document and renew the agro-biodiversity and use it for genetic enhancement of legumes. Legume diversity occurs in 2 forms -wild relatives of legume species and farmer selected crop landraces. The last ones are the result of thousand of years of risk- averse selection by the farmers themselves, but the wild relatives are equally important, as they are constantly adapting in order to survive changes in climate, soil, pollution levels, exposition and other aspects of their environment. As a result of such studies during recent 12 years with local and introduced germplasm, 2 of perspective varieties of chickpea -"Zedazeni" and "Pablo" 2 of lentils -"Shiraki" and "Eliksiri" and 2 soybeans-"Tvalkhatula" and "Bi-2", were selected and released in 3 different soil and climatic zone conditions of Georgia in 2000. Now, super-elite and elite seeds of 4 new varieties are being multiplied and distributed in neighboring countries -Armenia and Azerbaijan. From all of this material we have developed in-situ conservation techniques. Simulated in-situ conservation experiments are under way at our station in Gardabani district. A large number of high- yield lines were developed through hybridization and selection and released for general cultivation in Georgia. Owing to the breeding work carried out in the last l2 years, new varieties were added to the few ones previously registered in Georgian National Official Bulletin # 1,2001 , for "Protection of new Varieties of Plants": 2 new varieties of chickpea, 2 new varieties of lentil and 2 new varieties of soybeans. At the moment the National Variety Bulletin list includes 2 varieties of faba bean, 4 new varieties of chickpea, 3 new varieties of lentil, and 12 varieties of soybeans.
English
Chickpeas
Cropping systems
Farm area
Feeding
Food production
Georgia
Germplasm conservation
Grain legumes
Lentils
Sowing
Soybeans
Genetic resources
CIMMYT
633.1147 / BED