The 1st Triticale Workshop organized by Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University Livestock Specialization Coordination brought together Turkey's leading scientists, researchers, and industry representatives in the field of triticale. The workshop stood out for highlighting the strategic importance and future role of triticale.
The workshop was conducted by Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University faculty members Prof. Dr. Siğnem Öney Birol and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Selman Uluışık and Süleyman Demirel University Faculty Member Dr. Serkan Özmen, supported within the scope of the university's "Regional Development-Oriented Mission Differentiation and Specialization" Program; it was carried out within the project that includes the goals of determining the drought stress tolerance of registered and production-permitted triticale varieties grown in our country, their molecular characterization, and the development of new varieties adaptive to drought.
Throughout the two-day workshop, the importance of triticale, which offers high yield potential especially in arid, saline, and marginal soils, was emphasized within the framework of the effects of global climate change on agriculture. Experts pointed out that triticale is not only an alternative grain but also one of the key products of sustainable agriculture resistant to climate change.
It was stated that triticale offers a versatile solution with its high value in ruminant and poultry nutrition in terms of livestock, its cost-reducing effect on feed, and its increasing usage areas in human nutrition.
Participants noted that despite its current potential, triticale, which is not sufficiently evaluated, could reach much wider production areas through scientific studies, public policies, and private sector investments. In the workshop, while solution proposals for the problems faced by producers were discussed; it was emphasized that strengthening the cooperation between academia, public, private sector, and producers would make a significant contribution to increasing triticale production and market potential in Turkey, and a final declaration was created, concluding the workshop.
Among the doyens in the field of triticale research and breeding; Selçuk University Faculty Member Prof. Dr. S. Ahmet Bağcı, Tekirdağ Namık Kemal University Faculty Member Prof. Dr. İsmet Başer, Konya Bahri Dağdaş International Agricultural Research Institute National Triticale Research Projects Coordinator Dr. Emel Özer, Eastern Anatolia Agricultural Research Institute Eastern Anatolia Agricultural Research Institute Cool Climate Cereals Department Head Dr. Ümran Küçüközdemir, Transitional Zone Agricultural Research Institute researchers Yılmaz Yıldırım, Abdülkadir Atalay, Ferdi Sağır, Semih Özer, and Oğuzhan Çakıcı, Ankara Field Crops Central Research Institute barley breeder Dr. Namuk Ergün, and Eskişehir Osmangazi University Faculty Member Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yaşar Karaduman, along with many academics, as well as private sector organizations such as Alfa Tohum, Altat Tarım, Bahçesaray Tohumculuk, Büke Yem/Tohum, Ekmen Tarım, and ETİ Gıda R&D officials, and Burdur Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry Meadow Pasture and Forage Crops Branch Manager Fikret Ergin, along with many researchers, industry representatives, and farmers contributed to the workshop.
