| III. News INDIAN AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE, NEW DELHI. (Division of Genetics) Indian Wheat Varieties as Sources of Fertility Restoration in Wheat A research programme on the development of hybrid wheat has been in progress at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute for the past 5 years. In the course of this work, T. timopheevi cytoplasm was incorporated into Kalyansona, a dwarf (Norin) wheat variety developed from breeding material of Mexican origin. Five completely male sterile lines of Kalyansona were crossed as female parents with 29 of the more important Indian wheat varieties. The F1 plants from the crosses involving the varieties NP 839, NP 883 and NP 880 were almost completely fertile. The fertility observed in the F1 plants suggests that these three varieties carry genes for fertility restoration. A number of other Indian wheat varieties have also been identified, which partially restore fertility. Seeds of all these varieties would be made available on request. The request should be addressed to Dr. H.K. JAIN, Head, Division of Genetics, IARI, New Delhi-12, India. (M. S. SWAMINATHAN) |