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Biology and Biosafety

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Triticale

Abstract

Triticale is a cool-season grass hybrid of wheat and rye. Morphology is intermediate to both parents; however, backcrossing to wheat has resulted in higher genome retention and more characteristics in common with the maternal wheat parent. Prior to the development of genetically modified (GM) triticale varieties, a review of triticale biology will provide information to quantify environmental and commercial risk. Critical information includes intra- and interspecific hybridization, pollen-mediated gene flow (PMGF), seed persistence, and seed-mediated gene flow (SMGF). Cleistogamy reduces but does not eliminate intraspecific hybridization. PMGF rates vary with distance from the source field and the width of the receptor field. Triticale grown in a commercial field >50 m wide adjacent to a GM triticale crop would contain adventitious presence (AP) <0.9 %, or below the European labeling threshold. Crossing experiments suggest that hybridization between triticale and parental species is low due to cleistogamy and genomic restrictions. Hybridization to wild and weedy relatives has not been reported under natural conditions; however, jointed goatgrass should be tested because it has been reported to hybridize with wheat under field conditions. Triticale seed persistence is low at ≤2 years on the soil surface and ≤6 months buried at a depth of 12 cm. However, volunteers may produce seed in subsequent crops and AP from volunteers has been reported to exceed labeling thresholds in herbicide-tolerant canola and wheat. Should GM triticale be marketed, stewardship protocols will need to be developed considering both triticale biology and crop rotations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Production and Market Development, Agrifoods Development Branch, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, 4 Herald Avenue, Herald Towers, 2nd. Floor, P.O. Box 2006, Corner Brook, NL, A2H 6J8, Canada

    Vanessa Kavanagh

  2. Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science, University of Alberta, 410 Agriculture Forestry Building, Edmonton, AB, T6K 2P5, Canada

    Linda Hall

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  1. Vanessa Kavanagh
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  2. Linda Hall
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Correspondence to Vanessa Kavanagh .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada

    François Eudes

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Kavanagh, V., Hall, L. (2015). Biology and Biosafety. In: Eudes, F. (eds) Triticale. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-22551-7_1

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