An Evaluation of Hordeum vulgare L. ×Psathyrostachys fragilis (Boiss.) Nevski Crosses for Doubled Haploid Barley Production

Investigations were carried out to assess the suitability of the intergeneric cross Hordeum vulgare×Psathyrostachys fragilis for haploid barley production. H. vulgare cvs. ‘Emir’ and ‘Vada’ were each pollinated with P. fragilis P.I. 343192 and plants regenerated from embryos cultured on a modified B5 medium. Seed sets on ‘Vada’ were significantly lower than on ‘Emir’, and all the planes from ‘Vada’×P. fragile remained hybrid. Several of these flowered but there was little pairing between the parental chromosomes. Most of the plants from ‘Emir’×P. fragilis died, as seedlings but 3 plants developed into haploid barley. Because of the practical limitations of pollen availability from P. fragilis and the inconsistencies in haploid plant formation, it is unlikely that the cross will prove as valuable as that between H. vulgare×H. bulbosum for a doubled haploid barley programme.