Mutation breeding program in durum wheat (T. durum) in Italy which began
in 1956, has yielded around 1000 mutants, 292 of which are considered useful for
breeding purposes. Six were released as new varieties, while a further five varieties
were produced by selection and hybridization among mutants (Scarascia et al., 1993).
In former USSR Salpikova and Rapopout, (1993), reported that, mutation breeding
program since 1965 in using chemical mutagenesis led to the development of 499
mutant varieties of crop plants, of which 134 were released during the period 1977-
Alghamedi et al. / Environ. We Int. J. Sci. Tech. 5 (2010) 13-25
15
1992. Mutant varieties of winter wheat, spring and winter barley and maize account
for over 25% of these released varieties. In Pakistan, three wheat varieties were
released. The mutant variety, ‘Jauhar 78’ derived from ‘Nayab’ after neutrons
treatment had high yield, wide adaptability, amber grain, and resistance to shattering.
Both varieties ‘Soghat 90’ and ‘Kiran 95, derived with sodium azide treatment had
high grain and biomass yield, high protein and lysine content and tolerance to leafrust
(Arain et al., 2000).