Search

The direct cross-hybridization approach between 16 Aegilops tauschii (AT) and 10 bread wheat (W) lines was carried out in reciprocal directions. W (♀) x AT (♂) yielded no embryo formation whereas embryo formation ranging from 34.09 to 43.33% was obtained in AT (♀) x W (♂) crosses in all 160 combinations. The major bottleneck of low plant regeneration in AT (♀) x W (♂) crosses was cleared by adopting detached tiller culture and embryo rescue medium adjuvants such as casein hydrolysate (200 mg/L) and activated charcoal (2 g/L). The regeneration frequency as a result of these two interventions increased from 3.61 to 19.29 per cent. Two innovative methods of chromosome doubling included in situ colchicine (0.05%) treatment with cotton swab method and pre-regeneration colchicine treatment (0.1 and 0.2%) to pollinated ovaries were found to be effective. The findings of the study make successful exploitation of direct cross approach (AT (♀) x W (♂)) possible in wheat improvement.

Limited backcrossing was followed to introgress useful variability, needed for improving grain morphology and milling traits, from wild Oryza species into two indica cultivars PR114 and Pusa44.These alien introgressions lines (ILs), having similar grain quality parameters to the recurrent parent, were used for developing rice hybrids to assess the effect of these introgressions in the heterozygous state and to assess their grain quality parameters, as most of the hybrids commercialized in the tropics have inferior grain quality. These ILs and their recurrent parents, possessing fertility restoration ability for wide abortive cytoplasm, were crossed with CMS line PMS 17A to generate introgressions line hybrids (ILHs). Hybrids developed from recurrent parents were used as a check to compare the performance of ILHs. Based on yield and phenotypic acceptability, six ILHs having enriched genome of O. rufipogon and O. nivara were selected and analyzed for grain quality traits. All six hybrids observed significant improvement in milled rice recovery (up to 10%), head rice recovery (up to 25%) over ILs and check hybrids. Introgressions were analyzed using polymorphic SSR markers. The majority of O. rufipogon and O.nivara alleles identified in the study seems to be effective across recipient genotypes and could be used effectively in quality breeding programs.