When: Wednesday 30 September 2026 | 14:00 – 15:30 BST
Javaria Ashiq from the Wheat Research Institute, AARI, Faisalabad, Pakistan .
Summary:
Developing Drought-Tolerant Wheat Varieties through Conventional Breeding: Screening, Trait Evaluation, and Selection Strategies
Wheat is the staple food crop of Pakistan, covering over 9 million hectares and contributing approximately 9.9% to agricultural value added. However, among various abiotic stresses drought stress remains one of the most critical threats to its productivity, particularly in rainfed systems across the country. This seminar presents ongoing work from the Drought Tolerance Research Group, Wheat Research Institute, AARI Faisalabad, focusing on conventional breeding for drought-resilient bread wheat.
A structured breeding pipeline is underway in which more than 1,500 breeding lines are being advanced across filial generations F2–F7, with systematic selection for drought tolerance at each stage. Superior lines are progressing through preliminary, regular, and uniform yield trials at both provincial and national levels.
This pipeline, spanning early generation selection through to national-level yield testing represents a comprehensive and active effort to develop stable, high-yielding drought-tolerant wheat varieties for rainfed cropping systems in Pakistan.
Speaker bio:
Javaria Ashiq is a Scientific Officer at the Wheat Research Institute, AARI, Faisalabad, contributing to the conventional breeding program to develop drought-tolerant wheat varieties. She is a PhD Scholar in Plant Breeding and Genetics at the Nuclear Institute for Agriculture and Biology, Faisalabad-PIEAS, where her research integrates germplasm characterization with biochemical and molecular profiling approaches. Her work bridges applied field breeding and laboratory-based crop analysis to support evidence-based crop improvement.
