Wheat: Improvement Through Anther Culture

Abstract

The development of haploid embryoids from microspores of Datura innoxia by anther culture was first reported in 1964 (Guha and Maheshwari). Since then many scientists in China and other countries have paid great attention to the induction of androgenetic haploids, mainly because anther culture provides an excellent means for the production of large numbers of haploids which are useful in fundamental genetic research and plant breeding (see H. Hu 1978, Bajaj 1983 c). The first research work on wheat anther culture was by Fujii (1970) in which six species were tested; calli were obtained in Triticum aegilopoides, T. dicoccides, but anthers of Triticum aestivum did not respond. Pollen plants of wheat were first obtained by J. Ouyang et al. (1973). At that time the frequency of induction of green plantlets was only 0.7%.