Wheat Genetic Resources in Nepal

Genetic diversity must be maintained and utilized for sustainable agriculture development. The amount of genetic diversity in the country depends on the number and diversity of the original ancestors involved in the creation of a germplasm pool, wild relatives and existing landraces. The objective of this research was to study the diversity of wheat gene pool present in the Nepalese bread wheat cultivars and landraces that could help for developing conservation and utilization strategy effectively. We examined the pedigrees of 35 Nepalese wheat cultivars and surveyed the literature for distribution of landraces and wild relatives of wheat. Cultivated landraces of spring and winter type, wild landraces and diploid species of wheat are found in Nepal. There are 35 improved wheat cultivars, 540 landraces and 10 wild relatives of wheat. Crosses between winter and spring wheat gene pools are far more common and offer a ne