Effect of Exogenous Plant Growth Hormones on Interspecific Hybridization in Some Species of Genus Brassica

Interspecific hybridization in Brassica has been extensively studied as a potential tool for enhancement of gene pool and introduction of useful traits from wild and allied species. A field experiment was conducted to study the effect of exogenous application of different growth hormones on interspecific crossability among three species of genus Brassica (B.juncea, B.rapa and B.alba). Siliqua set and number of putative hybrid seeds obtained were recorded. The results revealed that percent siliqua set with application of H₁ was significantly better than other treatments, except in the cross with B.rapa as female parent and B.alba as male parent. GA₃alone gave best results followed by a combination of GA₃ with kinetin and NAA. Some kind of antagonistic reaction occurs when GA₃ is applied with NAA, leading to a marked reduction in siliqua set. Normal seeds were not produced in any of the crosses under study.