Art and science of Italian wheat breeding and its influence on breeding in South and Central Europe

摘要

Breeding of wheat in the last century was based on the phenotypic expression of certain traits. Success of breeding depended on breeder's intuition for developing a new variety and his understanding of Mendelian genetics. Therefore, wheat breeding required of a breeder to be a scientist as well as an artist. Italian breeders were quite successful in breeding wheat varieties. Their varieties directly or through breeding projects have significantly contributed to the increase of wheat production in South and Central Europe in the second part of the last century.