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Wild Lens taxa are invaluable sources of useful traits for broadening genetic base of cultivated lentil. Nine inter-sub-specific and interspecific crosses were made successfully between cultivated ( Lens culinaris ssp. culinaris) and wild lentils ( L. culinaris ssp. orientalis, odemensis, lamottei and ervoides). The effect of species groups, day length and temperature on crossability in lentils was evident under normal winter sowing in New Delhi and in summer Himalayan nursery at Sangla in Himachal Pradesh, India, although pollen fertility assessed in all the cross-combinations showed no significant variation. True hybridity of nine inter-sub-specific and interspecific crosses was confirmed through morphological and molecular ( ISSR) markers, in which three of 120 primers could confirm the hybridity of all the crosses. All cross-combinations were also studied for important quantitative traits related to yield. The range, mean and coefficient of variation were estimated in parental lines, F1 and F2 generations to determine the extent of variability generated in cultivated lentils through the introgression of genes from wild L. taxa. A high level of heterosis was observed in F1 crosses for important traits studied. Substantially higher variations for seed yield and its attributing traits were exhibited in F2 generations indicating transgressive segregation. The results of the present investigation revealed that wild L. taxa can be successfully exploited for lentil improvement programmes, and the variations generated could be easily utilized for broadening the genetic base of cultivated lentil gene pool for improving the yield as well as wider adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of the Commonwealth Potato Collection in potato breeding is set in the context of the evolution of the crop and the need to widen its genetic base by introgression and base broadening. The introduction of the potato to Europe and its subsequent worldwide spread is described. An introduction is given to the world's major potato genebanks, and the current status of the Commonwealth Potato Collection is presented. Material from this genebank has been extensively used to improve the potato. Work on wild species as sources of resistance to late blight started before the genebank was initiated, and since then CPC accessions have provided major R-genes and durable resistance to breeders, greatly benefiting growers and consumers of the potato. Progress identifying and exploiting resistance to viruses and potato cyst nematodes is described. New sources of further pest and disease resistance genes are present in the germplasm in the collection, offering the potential to overcome current and future pests and diseases. Use of the cultivated species in the collection for base broadening is described and discussed. The collection also harbours a wide range of quality traits of use to breeders, including variation for cooking and crisping, anthocyanins, carotenoids, ascorbate metabolism and others. As breeding and genetics become more precise, and as both the knowledge of biochemical pathways and means of analysing chemical composition advance, new ways of accessing this variation become possible. Possible strategies to achieve these goals are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]