Chemical hybridising agents V#: evaluation of acylanilines in normal and late sown bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

There is an urgent need for the introduction of hybrid wheat in India to meet the projected target of production of wheat i.e., 105 m. tonnes by 2020 A.D. In the absence of cytoplasmic-genetic male sterile (CGMS) system, use of chemical hybridising agents (CHAs) is another possibility already successful in some western countries. Keeping this approach in view, a total of 19 test CHAs comprising of 10 oxanilates, 5 acetoacetanilides and 4 malonanilates were synthesised and screened as CHAs on two genotypes of wheat (PBW 343 and HD 2687) at premeiotic stage and at different concentrations (1000–4000 ppm). The field trial was conducted following randomised block design (RBD) with three replicates. Fluoroanalogues (1, 5 and 10) gave the best performance in inducing male sterility in both the varieties. At 3000 ppm, they respectively Induced 100, 90.33 and 88.54 per cent male sterility on HD 2687 (late sown). Similar trend of results was obtained on these cultivars sown at normal sowing dates. No other substituent could match fluoro in enhancing the property of male sterility induction. Neither modification of the side chain nor change in substituent position in the phenyl ring could improve the observed induction of male sterility.