New Zealand
November 2010

Source:  Plant Breeding News, Edition 219
Contributed by Paul Johnston

In cooperation with many international research workers and breeders, a team of scientists at Plant & Food Research, New Zealand, has developed 195 lines from H. vulgare x H. bulbosum hybrids. These lines contain discrete introgressions of H. bulbosum chromatin in an H. vulgare background. The size and location of the introgressions have been characterised and the introgressions have been assigned to specific chromosomes using molecular and cytogenetic methods. All of them have been screened in small-plot nurseries in New Zealand, Nordic countries and elsewhere; some have been evaluated agronomically in yield trials and developed further by plant breeders in Nordic countries and by breeders in other parts of Europe, North America and Australasia. The resistance or tolerance of these lines to diseases that are limiting factors in barley cultivation has been recorded. They also possess other traits that could be valuable in breeding programmes focused on tolerance to abiotic stress. The lines will be freely available from NordGen within the next few months once they have been multiplied; stocks will be lodged in the 'Svalbard Global Seed Vault‘ sited within the Arctic Circle.

Richard Pickering (retired), Paul Johnston, Viji Meiyalaghan, Stan Ebdon and Ed Morgan
Plant & Food Research
Private Bag 4704
Christchurch
New Zealand

For more information on the lines contact:
paul.johnston@plantandfood.co.nz (Dr Paul Johnston)
ed.morgan@plantandfood.co.nz (Ed Morgan – group leader)

Breeders and researchers can obtain details of availability and access as well as order seeds from:
NordGen
Nordic Genetic Resource Center
Box 41, SE-230 53 Alnarp, Sweden
www.nordgen.org
 

Website: http://www.plantandfood.co.nz

Published: December 3, 2010