Further Studies on the Restoration of Fertility in Triticum durum×T. timopheevi Hybrids

Abstract Twenty one F 1 hybrids involving three Triticum durum cultivars and eleven forms of T. timopheevi were backcrossed to their respective durum parents. Backcross fertility (BC 1 grain set) of these sterile hybrids improved with the rise in temperature at the time of pollination. A mean temperature of less than 20 °C results in poor seed set while higher mean temperatures around 24 °C result in increased seed set. It is suggested that a large number of backcross seeds can be produced by pollinating these hybrids late in the season, i.e., after 20th of March in northern India.