BREEDING

Creation of new high productive varieties of the following crops: wheat, maize, beans, alfalfa and vine. Variety maintenance and seed production of high categories authentic seeds of certificated varieties. Variety maintenance and production of certificated vine planting material.

SCIENTIFIC TEAM

Head of the Department:  Assist.Prof. Diana Hristova Marinova, PhD
Agrotechnics and breeding of alfalfa

Research associates and scientific competence:

BREEDING OF WHEAT

In the breeding of wheat, the scientific work is after the method of intervarietal hybridization. The subjective is the creation of new high-yield, drought resistant varieties of common soft wheat with high quality of grain.

BREEDING OF MAIZE

Creation of maize hybrids for grain – ecologically plastic and high productive.

Breeding and improving activity is conducted via:

  • inbreeding, intraspecific hybridization
  • selection of drought resistant and ecologically plastic lines, resistant to the economically significant diseases and pests for the country
  • variety maintenance of self-pollinated lines

BREEDING OF BEANS

Creation of early-blooming and early-ripening varieties with a shorter vegetation period, with a larger grain and with higher protein content, good adaptability, wide ecological plasticity and tolerant to stress factors.

BREEDING OF ALFALFA

Creation of alfalfa varieties with high productivity, improved quality and permanency/ persistance.

Breed improvement activity is in 3 directions:

  • Self-pollination, hybridization and polycross of trifoliolate alfalfa varieties
  • Self-pollination and selection of multifoliolate alfalfa germplasms
  • Investigation and selection of alfalfa germplasms, resistant to the economically significant for the country diseases and pests

BREEDING OF VINE

Creation of high quality wine and seed and seedless table vine cultivars, plastic to the environment and suitable for development of sustainable and ecological viticulture via evaluating of the breeding process on a contemporary scientific-methodical level and use of diverse germplasm.

Breeding methods applied:

  • individual clone selection on populations of table and wine vine cultivars and spreading of the most perspective clones
  • intra- and inter- specific hybridization between new varieties and hybrids, using new and diverse germplasm, inheriting resistance, aiming creation of ecologically précised cultivars with high plasticity
  • self-pollination (inbreeding) between varieties and hybrids aiming breeding of new varieties with valuable recessive traits (seedlessness, plasticity, resistance to diseases, etc.)