Skip to main content
ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #50302
Title: DEVELOPMENT OF A TRITICALE RESISTANT TO THE GREENBUG: AN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE (MODIFY TO ADD ACCEPT DATE)

Author
item SEBESTA EMIL E - 6217-05-10 DECEASED
item WOOD E A JR - 6217-05-10 DECEASED
item Porter, David
item WEBSTER JAMES A - 6217-05-10

Submitted to: Journal of Euphytica
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/2/1995
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: The greenbug is a serious pest of small grain production in the Great Plains of the United States. Although not a threat every year, the greenbug can cause substantial losses during widespread outbreaks which typically occur every 5 to 10 years. Controlling greenbug damage through the use of resistant varieties is very effective, economical, and nonpolluting. The breeding program at the USDA-ARS Plant Science Research Laboratory, Stillwater, OK, has invested considerable time and effort in the development of such greenbug-resistant varieties. One example of this work is the development of 'Gaucho' triticale. In 1956, an Argentinian scientist reported the development of a greenbug-resistant strain of rye ('Insave F.A.'). While the greenbug resistance gene is of value, it was not useable while still in a rye background. Work began at Stillwater in 1966 to transfer the greenbug resistance gene from rye to wheat. The first tphase of this transfer required the development of a rye-wheat hybrid. Insave F.A. rye was crossed with 'Chinese Spring' wheat and then the plants were treated with colchicine to double the chromosome number. Several partially fertile plants were recovered from this process that were resistant to the greenbug. Genetic analysis of these hybrid plants confirmed a previous report that the greenbug resistance is conditioned by a single dominant gene. The doubled wheat-rye hybrid, or triticale, developed from this process was released to the public under the name 'Gaucho'. This is a valuable source of greenbug resistance that has been used extensively.

Technical Abstract: A greenbug [Schizaphis graminum (Rondani)] resistant strain of rye (Secale cereale L.)'Insave F.A.' from Argentina was crossed with 'Chinese Spring' wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and also with 'Elbon' and 'Balbo' cultivars of common rye. Juvenile plants of the primary wheat X rye hybrid were treated with colchicine. Partially fertile amphidiploids were obtained that are resistant to greenbug Biotypes B and C. F1 and F2 populations of seedling plants derived from crosses of 'Insave F.A.' with 'Elbon' and 'Balbo' rye were tested for reaction to the greenbug to determine the genetic basis of inheritance. The results confirmed previous reports that resistance in 'Insave F.A.' is conditioned by a single dominant gene.