Relative efficiency of anther culture and chromosome elimination techniques for haploid induction in triticale x wheat and triticale x triticale hybrids

The study was undertaken to evaluate the relative efficiency of anther culture and chromosome elimination (by crosses with maize) techniques of haploid induction in intergenotypic triticale and triticale x wheat hybrids. For this, 15 triticale x wheat and 8 triticale x triticale F-1 hybrids were subjected to anther culture and were also simultaneously crossed with the `Madgran Local' genotype of maize (Zea mays L.) to induce haploids through the chromosome elimination technique. The haploid embryo formation frequency through the chromosome elimination technique was significantly higher in both, triticale x wheat (20.4%) and triticale x triticale (17.0%) F-1 genotypes, as compared to the calli induction frequencies through anther culture (1.6 and 1.4%, respectively). Further, four triticale x wheat and three triticale x triticale F-1 genotypes failed to respond to anther culture, whereas, all the F-1 genotypes formed sufficient number of haploid embryos through the chromosome elimination technique with no recovery of albino plantlets. The haploid plantlet regeneration frequencies were also significantly higher through the latter technique in both triticale x wheat (42.7%) and triticale x triticale (49.4%) F(1)s as compared to anther culture (8.2 and 4.0%, respectively), where the efficiency was drastically reduced by several constraints like, high genotypic specificity, low regeneration frequency and albinism. The overall success rates of obtaining doubled haploids per 100 pollinated florets/anthers cultured were also significantly higher through the chromosome elimination technique (1.1% in triticale x wheat and 1.5% in triticale x triticale hybrids), proving it to be a highly efficient and economically more viable technique of haploid induction as compared to anther culture, where the success rates were only 0.2% and 0.1%, respectively.