Plant Mutation Reports, Vol. 2, No. 2, June 2010

Breeding a new variety is far more complex and takes much more time than performing a laboratory experiment in well controlled conditions. Further, breeding information is often not published in scientific journals, and is sometimes kept as a trade secret. Therefore, it is not an easy job to collect and analyse relevant information and write a paper to review the achievements in plant breeding. As in many other countries, induced mutations have played an important role in crop breeding in Bulgaria. In this issue, Dr. N. Tomlekova presents an excellent paper on this subject. She has succeeded in portraying a comprehensive picture of research and application of mutation breeding in Bulgaria: about 80 mutant varieties of 14 different plant species; leading mutant varieties are covering about 50% of maize growing area and almost 100% of durum wheat area; novel mutations have not only played a role in improving resistance/ tolerance to biotic/abiotic stresses, quality and nutrition traits, but also in facilitating hybrid seed production and enabling adaptation to mechanization of crop production; thousands of mutant lines have been generated and preserved as germplasm collections and used in breeding programmes. The great success in hybrid maize breeding may surprise most readers since it is widely believed that out-crossing crops like maize have sufficient genetic variability, and that induced mutations have limited roles. Such perceptions should be re-assessed against the great success of maize mutation breeding in Bulgaria.