Crossability of hexaploid triticale and bread wheat

High effective crossability between triticale and wheat is a prerequisite for the transfer of desirable traits from one species to the other. Crossability was studied between four triticale and five wheat genotypes by making crosses in various combinations. When wheat was used as female the apparent seed development was 31.64 percent and 25.82 percent during 2003–04 and 2004–05 respectively. However, the germination was very low i.e. 0.84 and 1.17 percent. In the reciprocal cross the apparent seed formation was 10.10 and 12.16 percent during 2003–04 and 2004–05 respectively and the germination was 39.45 percent and 57.17 percent. Thus the apparent seed formation was three times and double in wheat × triticale crosses during 2003–04 and 2004–05 respectively though the germination was almost nil. To investigate the bottleneck in wheat × triticale crosses the cytological studies were made which revealed a normal pollen tube growth. Examination of the caryopsis 12–15 days after pollination indicated that the crosses were nonviable due to faulty endosperm development. Use of tissue culture technique is suggested to make such crosses viable.