Tomato genotypes being tested for drought resistance in Turkey

At the Erciyes University Agricultural Research and Application Center (ERUTAM), local tomato genotypes collected from different regions of Turkey as well as Ghana and Iraq are grown in soilless water culture (hydroponic) to breed new drought-resistant varieties. ERUTAM Director Dr. Faculty Member Abdullah Ulaş told Anadolu Agency (AA) that the world population is increasing by around 80 million every year, and studies have shown that the current production amount should be increased by 50 percent in order to reach food on a daily basis. Explaining that most of the production is carried out in arid areas, especially in the Central Anatolia Region, Ulaş said, "We are investigating the genotypes that are drought resistant and produce high yields in arid areas. We do this in the controlled climate room, we test the genotypes whose history we do not know before they are planted." he said. Explaining the study on tomato genotypes, Ulaş said: "There are 16 different tomato genotypes ...