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

Abstract Twenty one F1 hybrids involving three Triticum durum cultivars and eleven forms of T. timopheevi were backcrossed to their respective durum parents. Backcross fertility (BC1 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.