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for research on spring wheat improvement for
the Near East area. Tentative arrangements
also have been made for the Rockefeller Foundation
and CIMMYT to collaborate with the
Government of Turkey in expanding research
on both winter and spring wheats.
CIMMYT's Continuing Role in Wheat Research,
Training and Assistance to National
Production Programs
The CIMMYT wheat program attempts to
carryon a balanced program between applied
and fundamental research in all disciplines affecting
wheat production and utilization. It
gives primary emphasis to the applied. The
research is production oriented (rather than
discipline oriented), and efforts are made to
concentrate on the factors in each discipline
that most affect yield, crop losses and utilization.
The major research effort is confined
to the disciplines of breeding, agronomy and
soils, plant pathology, entomology and biochemistry,
from both industrialization and nutritional
viewpoint.
CIMMYT's research program is 'executed in
two different ways. A large part of the research
work is conducted in Mexico at CIMMYT-INIA
stations or laboratories. Other parts are carried
on in other countries where CIMMYT staff
members collaborate with research workers or
national programs. These various aspects are
discussed in "Other parts of this report.
Training is one of the most important functions
of the CIMMYT program. The CIMMYT
training program is of a practical nature and
is designed primarily for young scientists. It
is oriented largely toward "learning by participating
in research". In the past year, however,
since the CIMMYT core staff has been
expanded to include a training officer, more
time is also devoted to seminars. Production
training also has been added during the past
six months.
During the past eight years 140 young
wheat scientists have been trained at CIMMYT.
Many who have received training in CIMMYT
are now active members of either wheat reserch
or production teams in their respective
countries. The successful implementation of
the production program in Pakistan for example,
in a large part, was due to contributions
made by young scientists who had trained in
CIMMYT-Mexico.
Within the past two years another facet
has been added to the CIMMYT training program.
Currently a number of Post-doctorate
fellows are receiving training. Moreover, in
the same period a number of foreign scientists
have spent part of their sabbatical leave at
CIMMYT; their breadth of interest and experiences
have been drawn on to increase the
effectiveness and scope of our practical training
program for foreign scientists.
MEXICO
THE JOINT CIMMYT·INIA PROGRAM
Commercial Production
Although final figures are not yet available
for the 1970 crop, it is almost certain that
Mexico has again established a new record
for both total production and yield per hectare.
The weather during the past season was very
favorable for wheat production throughout the
entire country.
Diseases were not a factor of any significance
in affecting either yield or total production.
It was difficult to find any appreciable
amount of stem rust (Puceinia graminls trltlcl)
in any part of the republic. A few late sown
fields of Super X and Siete Cerros, which are
known to be susceptible to some Mexican
races, showed some infection but all escaped
injury:
Although stripe rust (P. glumarum) is rarely
found and never causes damage on the coastal
belt of Sonora and Sinaloa, 'it often occurs and
occasionally causes damage to wheat sown at
elevations of 1500 meters or above in the
Central plateau. This past season, however,
stripe rust infection was extremely rare even
at higher elevations.
Leaf rust (P. triticina) was widespread
throughout the coastal areas of Sinaloa and
Sonora. The variety Inia 66, which constituted
the largest area sown to wheat throughout the
country, was heavily infected in most areas.
Nevertheless, Inia produced excellent yields
generally ranging from 4 to 5 tons per hectare
with grain test weights that generally ranged
from 82 to 84 kilos per hectoliter. Generally
throughout the region, November and December
sown fields of the varieties Azteca 66,
Ciano 66 Noroeste 66, Nortel'lo 67, and Tobari
66, altho~gh free from all rusts and other diseases
were outyielded by Inia 66 even though
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