| Abstract |
Sustainable cereal production on farmers' fields: that is the ultimate measure of the impact of CIMMYT's research. Its achievement requires a combination of effective technologies and the most appropriate seeds. Over the years, much of the Center's effort has been devoted to breeding and selection, and CIMMYT can now claim that its gennplasm is to be found in the genealogy of many - perhaps most - of the wheat and triticale cultivars that are offered by public and private seed suppliers throughout the world. CIMMYT gennplasm is also widely represented in the maize that is grown in many countries, especially the tropical countries. However, the concept of a 'cultivar', which is well established for self-pollinating plants, needs a different interpretation when applied to out-crossing species. Within a few seasons, what is introduced intenningles with what is already there. While many authorities announce 'cultivars' and 'varieties' of maize, these are more likely to have numbers than names, and a mere listing ould fall far short of representing the impact of CIMMYT's maize program. For maize, more sophisticated indicators are needed; thus this compilation deals only with the Triticeae. Nonnally, a cultivar is released or registered by a national authority for use in a particular country or jurisdiction. In many countries, the release or registration is the occasion for publishing an announcement and, while most announcements give the parentage of the cultivar, some also explain where and when the crosses were made and how the selection was carried out. Often such a publication gives the results of trials and the reasons for the adoption of the cultivar. Name a cultivar, and we should be able to find - and, when appropriate, to cite the relevant national announcement; this is the authentic source for infonnation about the characteristics of the cultivar. But tens of thousands of cultivars have been named in the Triticeae and, to be manageable, our list needed to have a precise scope: we are interested in those pu lications that contain a narrative, even if only a word or two, in which the authors link the development of their cultivars to the programs of CIMMYT. Similarly, and again to comprehend a national breeder's perspective, we are also interested in synoptic works - 'country reviews' - that take note of CIMMYT's contributions in the context of an evolving national breeding program. Finally, because this compilation focuses on publications, it does not provide a complete list of the cultivars produced from CIMMYT germplasm. If there was no national publication to announce a cultivar, there is no entry in the following pages. Indeed, even when there is a publication announcing a cultivar that has CIMMYT germplasm in its genealogy, it is listed here only if national scientists have seen the role of CIMMYT as significant enough to require a mention in the announcement itself or in a country review. |
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