Winter Wheats as Donors of Higher Productivity Traits

With the growing population pressure and expected 20% increase in per capita availability of wheat, India now faces a challenge of producing extra 40 million tonnes, which requires a growth rate of 1.8% per year as against the current I%. Research efforts are in progress to increase yield levels by developing hybrid wheats, breeding cultiv,irs with durable resistance to newly emerged diseases and pests. introgressing the higher yielding alien genes in the background of present cultivars, etc. but nothing scems to bring in the desired impetus since national average of production has been stalemating for the last few years. At this juncture, it has been envisaged to derive the genes of fering promise of higher yields and robust disease resistance from various sources on a hit and trial basis and the winter wheats are the most revealing in this context. Winter wheats have already served this cause by donating Nori 10 dwarfing gene to spring wheat cultivars which harbingered green revolution in the late sixties. Pacc of highcr productivity of wheat was further maintained through nineties and till date by Veery cultivars adapted for spring cultivation also tind their origin in winter wheat sources. Therefore why not to tap the available winter wheat germplasm again through attempting winter x spring crosses for identifying cultivars with signiticantly higher yield potential as compared to the present ones. Growing winter wheats in a crossing block in Indian plains during normal wheat scason (rubi) is an arduous task involving huge investments for artificial fulfillment of vernalisation, a prerequisitc for flowering. However, the winter wheats sown in the month of October at ICAR's regional station at Lahaul-Spiti situated in temperate Himalaya of Himachal Pradesh flower in the ensuing month of July and synchronize for crossing with the spring wheat cultivars sown at the same location in the month of May. Therefore, transfer of superior traits from winter wheats to spring wheat cultivars or vice versa can be achieved economically with 1110re feasibility.