Mutation Breeding as a Tool for Sustainable Crop Production and Climate Resilience: Experiences from the South-Eastern Europe (SEE) and Central Asia (CA)
The review summarizes practical experiences in using mutation breeding for crop improvement in South-Eastern Europe (SEE) and Central Asia (CA), demonstrating that mutation breeding can be a field-validated, effective approach for developing climate-resilient crops. Drawing on coordinated research conducted within national breeding programs and international initiatives supported by FAO/IAEA, applied methodologies, trait-evaluation strategies, and concrete breeding outputs in cereals, legumes, and industrial crops are presented. The use of gamma irradiation, fast neutrons, and chemical mutagens has successfully generated stable mutant lines stable mutant lines with enhanced traits, such as increased thousand-grain weight in wheat, altered oil quality in sunflower, and improved drought tolerance in common bean and sesame. The integration of classical pedigree selection with modern breeding tools such as high-throughput phenotyping, molecular and biochemical markers, and doubled-haploid technology has enabled earlier and more efficient identification of superior genotypes in mutation breeding programs. The review underscores the practical relevance of mutation breeding in contemporary pipelines to maintain yield stability and quality under adverse environmental conditions.
Authors
- Svetlana Glogovac (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9902-099X)
- Marina Antić (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5792-9916)
- Sandra Cvejić (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7531-589X)
- Igor Vukelić (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2686-0343)
- Anastasia Kargiotidou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4525-507X)
- Ankica Kondić‐Špika (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3298-6620)
- Eleni Tani (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6178-0459)
- Efi Sarri (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4816-2167)
- Jasmin Grahić (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0031-3977)
- Chrysanthi Pankou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2144-4391)
- Aleksandra Radanović (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7467-9728)
- Nadica Sandeva Atanasova
- Sibel Aziz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3399-6353)
- K.M. Iskakova (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-8465-1255)
- Jolanta Kwaśniewska (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8965-8727)
- Dragana Miladinović (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9555-9162)
- Ali Şenay (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-3938-557X)
- Emilia Nacheva (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1516-3796)
- Hayrettin Peşkircioğlu
- Εleni M. Abraham (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4032-5830)
- B.B. Anapiyayev (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3130-0212)
- Билјана Кузмановска
- Christos Petsoulas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3926-0091)
- Siniša Jocić (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2189-9372)
- K. Yaprak Kantoğlu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7247-9116)
- Dragana Trkulja (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8512-6969)
- Boris Lazarević (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2521-7500)
- Daniela Ganeva (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6055-1785)
- Nasya Tomlekova (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0965-170X)
- Emine Seçer
- Dimitrios Ν. Vlachostergios (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7252-1719)
- Aslıhan Göktuğ
- Sonja Umicevic (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2747-3193)
- Mirjana Jankulovska
- Mirela Kajkut Zejković
- Rustam Usmanov (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-1026-1871)
Institutions
- University of Sarajevo (BA)
- Agricultural University of Athens (GR)
- Academy of Sciences Republic of Uzbekistan (UZ)
- University of Banja Luka (BA)
- University of Zagreb (HR)
- Satbayev University (KZ)
- Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (GR)
- Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops (RS)
- Maritsa Vegetable Crops Research Institute (BG)
- Turkish Atomic Energy Authority (TR)
- Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje (MK)
- University of Silesia in Katowice (PL)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Agronomy
- Published
- 2026-08-03
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy16151488
- Primary Topic
- Plant Genetic and Mutation Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- International Atomic Energy Agency