To achieve the goals and objectives, field experiments will be carried out in the experimental field of the IC-Knezha. Before planting, schemes with variants and repetitions will be developed, followed by phenological observations on key indicators.

After collecting the samples, the team will carry out laboratory studies of qualitative and quantitative characteristics, as well as biometric measurements - with the full participation of all members. The collected data will be statistically processed with specialized software and analyzed.

The result will be a comprehensive assessment of local and introduced varieties and populations from the planned collection, which will support future breeding programs.

Field and laboratory experiments will be organized into 7 work packages:

WP1. Enrichment of collections of old varieties/local forms and wild relatives of maize

WP2. Enrichment of collections of wild relatives of perennial wheatgrasses.

WP3. Morphological and agrobiological characterisation of local accessions of old varieties and wild relatives of the target crops.

WP4. Conservation in the National Gene Bank, the working collection of MRI-Kneja, and IFC-Pleven.

WP5. Comprehensive evaluation of the collected and obtained maize accessions and perennial wheatgrasses according to FAO international descriptors for each plant species.

WP6. Use of molecular markers for drought tolerance in maize and perennial wheatgrasses.

WP7. Dissemination of the achieved results.