Wheat Landraces of Turkey

Turkey falls within Vavilov’s Center of origin and harbors large genetic diversity of several economically important crop species. Wild crop relative, such as wild einkorn , wild emmer, wild barley, wild oats, wild rye and their respective domesticated forms, in addition to a multitude of other crop species, have been cultivated for millennia in several parts of Turkey, but especially in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Turkish farmers developed landraces from these crops; however, these landraces and the indigenous knowledge gained over many generations are being lost due to several anthropogenic and other factors. Landraces of wheat and other major and minor crops still play an important role in the livelihood of small scale farmers in Turkey. This paper reviews and contrasts the current status of Turkey’s main wheat landraces with their past; and suggests specific strategies for their maintenance.