This report highlights triticale's potential for benefiting developing nations. However, wheat is planted on more acres than any other crop in the United States (which produced more than two billion bushels in 1986). Despite the major domestic and foreign markets for U.S. wheat, the nation has the capacity to vastly increase production by bringing back into cultivation some 30-50 million acres set aside under government programs, many of which could produce small grains, including triticale. Accordingly, this brief section outlines the crop's domestic promise Triticale has had a checkered history in the United States. Initially, it was described by overenthusiastic, perhaps unscrupulous, entrepreneurs as a high-yielding, high-protein crop with huge potential markets. In the 1960s, farmers eagerly tried it. At one point there were almost 250,000 acres growing in states from New York to California.
This, in turn, stimulated many experiment stations to evaluate triticale, but their research lagged far behind the crop's momentum. That was unfortunate because the varieties being released to farmers had serious deficiencies. With few exceptions, they fell short of the yields and grain quality of the best-adapted wheat varieties. This was not unexpected, since little effort had been devoted to adapting various triticales to America's different climatic regions. Nonetheless, the effects were devastating; interest in the crop promptly collapsed.
However, despite the lack of commercial interest, a few breeders continued developing new experimental lines. They focused on kernel conformation, floret fertility, tillering ability, standability, winter hardiness, disease resistance, and fertilizer response. Most used lines developed at the Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maiz y Trigo (CIMMYT) or at the Jenkins Foundation for Research of Salinas, California. A few used lines from Poland or Canada.
As a result of several decades of research and testing by this small group of diehards, slow but steady advances have been made.
Today's triticale varieties are far better than those of a decade ago. They are very tolerant of smuts.
Their kernels are much more dense, although test weights are still sometimes a little low (55 lb per bushel). Also, they have much higher fertility, although sometimes sterility is still a problem.
These advances have gone largely unreported, but lines that are superior to wheat in one or more agronomic characters are already available. For instance, experimental lines selected for adaptation to northern California have produced 27 percent more grain than the highest yielding wheat check. Other lines, selected for adaptation to northern Texas and to the southeastern states, have produced 11 percent more grain than the wheat check. And in the northwest, types that outyield wheat on highly alkaline soils are available.
Such advances have so far failed to raise national enthusiasm for triticale as a food crop because throughout the 1980s the United States has been drowning in a surplus of wheat and has been struggling to suppress grain production. However, following the drought of 1988, that attitude appears likely to change. In the 1990s, triticale could once again attract widespread interest because it is a resilient crop, useful in harsh and changeable conditions.
As such, triticale is one of the most promising alternative crops for the nation. It does well in stressful environments that keep wheat from reaching its full potential. Wherever wheat grows poorly, triticale may succeed and produce a tasty food grain profitably.
Although the plant is different from wheat, it has the advantage in that it is not very different.
It can be produced by wheat growers with little change in production methods or machinery.
However, the government price-support programs could become a constraint to expanded acreage. Since triticale is not counted as a food-grain crop, farmers switching acreage to it may lose "base acres" under the wheat and small grains commodity programs. Farmers choosing to experiment with triticale also will face price uncertainties, and will not, at least initially, have access to federally subsidized crop insurance and disaster relief. While grain farmers with extra land not now enrolled in government programs can grow triticale without being penalized for exceeding existing acreage bases, there is relatively little such land suitable for small-grain production in many of the nation's most intensively farmed regions.
Prices paid for triticale grain have been low in recent years because it has sold mainly as a feed grain. Not only is this the lowest price market, but the levels have been determined by the prices of corn and soybean, both of which have been depressed. With the market's apparent rebound in the late 1980s, it seems reasonable to assume that triticale will become more attractive in the future than in the past.
FOOD USES
Although triticale has potential for use in the American food industry, it is far from being a reality. Wheat, the nation's established bread making cereal, has been in surplus for over a decade, making it nearly impossible for any new cereal to make deep inroads into bread making. Today, some triticales are used as taste-enhancing additives to specialty breads and baked goods, but, in the absence of sizable and stable markets, the crop has so far attracted little interest from the national food industry.
Nonetheless, many food uses could develop in the future. Triticale adds flavor to cookies, crackers, and breads. It has a taste that many people like instantly. New varieties have much better bread making qualities than those of the past-although they do have the "sticky dough" problem (see chapter 4). In the case of large industrial bakeries, this problem currently limits the use of triticale to blends with wheat flour.
FEED USES
In the United States at this point, triticale is most popular as a forage and feed grain. For this purpose, it is particularly valuable to farmers who want to grow their own feed. Also, its high lysine content means that farmers can save on purchases of supplemental protein. In places (such as the Southeast and Northwest) that are distant from the soybean-growing area in the Midwest, this could be a valuable saving.
Because grain sold for animal feed is less valuable than the same grain sold for human consumption, triticale has to yield at least 15 percent more than wheat to be profitable for a farmer. On poor soils in several parts of the nation, it is proving it can do this. In yield trials, winter triticales have actually produced far more per acre than barley, rye, and oats. In one set of trials, for instance, yields were 2,186 lb per acre at Comfort, Texas, and 4,810 lb per acre in an irrigation trial at Garden City, Kansas. The barley checks produced 1,173 lb per acre and 4,581 lb per acre, respectively. Triticale grain has the nutritional quality to be an excellent feed. In pig-feeding trials, it was shown to be just as palatable as wheat and corn, and has been fed ad libitum without problem.(3)
(3) Information from R. Myer.
It gave growth performance comparable to that of traditional feed grains.
Triticale is also attractive for feeding poultry. Trials on quail, chickens, broiler turkeys, and tom (male) turkeys have all been successful. In Oregon, variety Flora has been fed to tom turkeys without adversely affecting semen production. When the meat quality was tested, the toms fed exclusively on triticale had significantly improved meat tenderness. Triticale has also been fed to broiler breeder males without causing loss of semen or other qualities.(4)
In North Dakota, an awnless type has been released for forage use. (5)Information from F. Cholick.
THE SOUTHEAST
The crop is now establishing itself in the Southeast, where it is grown to a small but increasing extent for winter grazing and for spring feed-grain supply. The region is deficient in feed grains-barley and grain sorghum grow poorly there. Triticale is proving that it can neatly fill a specific market niche. Produced as a winter crop, it is harvested in early spring, a time when feed grains are scarce. It comes in three months before the corn crop, for instance. Some Florida researchers now see triticale as a southern counterpart of barley in the western states and the Dakotas, where wheat and barley are grown side by side. Despite wheat's greater value, barley maintains its niche because it is high yielding, flexible, and grows well on poor soils. Triticale has the same potential qualities, and thus it, too, deserves consideration even where wheat or other crops appear to be more profitable.
The University of Florida has released two triticale varieties. One, FL-201, was grown on
10,000 acres in 1988. The other, Florico, developed as a summer crop for Minnesota, is proving valuable as a winter crop across the deep South. Both FL-201 and Florico give high grain yields-as high as those of wheat on the lower coastal plains where yields of 60-70 bushels per acre are common. As a result, there is rising interest among local farm communities-only the availability of seed is holding back triticale's rapid expansion as a crop for the Southeast.
An important advantage is that the crop fits into multiple cropping systems. It can, for instance, be grown in an annual rotation with soybeans, grain sorghum, beans, corn, or other vegetables. Plots at Quincy, Florida, have yielded the equivalent of 94 bushels of triticale and 45 bushels of soybeans per acre on the same land in the same year. Such combinations can be used to help manage land intensively- allowing farmers to keep a crop in the ground year-round.(7)
(7) Information in this section from R. Myer and R. Barnett (see Research Contacts).
THE MIDWEST
Triticale's built-in resilience to drought, toxic soils, and other adversity may give it a new life in the wheat belt, where the possibility of changing climate and rising soil acidity are increasing concerns.
The drought of 1988 brought home to millions the warming trend that seems to be occurring across the farm belt. But what is less well known is that in states such as Kansas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma, surface soils are dropping towards pH 5, thereby creating aluminum and manganese toxicity in crops such as wheat. This acidification seems to result from the decades-long use of nitrogen fertilizers. Although surface soils can be de-acidified with lime, this is expensive and not always practical.
Where either surface or subsoils are acidified, triticale's outstanding tolerance to acidity, aluminum, and manganese may give it an edge. It has more aluminum tolerance than even the most tolerant wheats. Its benefits may come in better yields, reduced lime requirements, improved water use, better avoidance of drought, or increased resistance to pests.
Research in Wisconsin has shown that triticale may have unique usefulness as a cover crop. Its many robust characteristics make it good for protecting land from erosion. Moreover, it gives such thick ground cover that it shades weeds and reduces the need for herbicides.
These are increasingly valuable traits, given the growing interest in the use of cover crops on set-aside acres and in low-input agriculture systems. Triticale's high forage yields and palatability to livestock offer intriguing prospects for its inclusion in multi-year rotations involving corn, soybeans, triticale, and hay. Because of its drought hardiness, the plant may emerge as a particularly valuable rotational crop in arid regions of the country shifting from excessively high-cost irrigation-based production systems to dryland rotations.
THE NORTHWEST
In Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, winter triticale is attracting attention because it yields better than wheat on upland plateaus. Moreover, in places such as Oregon's Willamette Valley, it is finding a specialty niche because it tolerates alkaline soils that wheat cannot. Also, as noted above, triticale's Iysine is a commercial advantage because soybeans have to be imported long distances to feed the local livestock.
Most interest in the crop is now in feeding poultry, horses, and hogs. It is seen as a potential replacement for oats, which are sometimes difficult to find and are expensive in the Northwest. Dozens of small farmers in Idaho are growing triticale to feed hogs. For this purpose it works well. It is easy to raise, and the farmers can use their own crop to feed their own animals.
The state of Oregon has released a semidwarf winter type called "Flora." This is a high- yielding type(10) for growing on the alkaline soils in eastern Oregon, above 3,500 feet.
Unfortunately, it produces shriveled grains and is a little late maturing.(11) Nonetheless, it is being
(10) Based on Bokolo (Tom Thumb), a variety developed in Hungary by A. Kiss.
(11) Oregon's hot, dry summer days contribute to triticale's sterility and shrunken kernels and also accentuate shattering caused by the weak rachis on some lines. grown as a replacement for wheat on set-aside land and in alkalinesoil areas (notably in the La Grande area and to its south) where neither wheat nor barley produces acceptable yields.
Triticales in Oregon have exhibited variable response to major diseases such as rust, bunt, snow mold, and barley-yellow-dwarf virus. The lines tested also have responded variably to aluminum concentrations, frost heaving, winter freezing, and wet soils. The short-statured triticales withstand the wind and water loads common to the irrigated cropland along the Columbia River.
One thing has had some area growers concerned: the fear that this "son of rye" may become a weed in their future crops. However, triticale has never shown evidence of reverting to its parents. And, although it has many rustic qualities, it is more like wheat than rye as far as reseeding goes. Thus, seeds dropped in the fields seem unlikely to cause severe weed problems in later crops.
A complete and regularly updated bibliography on triticale, written by researchers at the Centro International de Mejoramiento de Maiz y Trigo (CIMMYT) is available. It lists more than 150 titles and covers conventional published literature as well as unconventional reports, studies, and conference proceedings. Photocopies of the individual papers listed in the bibliography are available on request. Requests should be sent to: Scientific Information Unit, CIMMYT, Apartado Postal 6-641, 06600 Mexico, D.F. Photocopies cost US$.10 per page for Latin America (MN$25.00 in Mexico) and US$.20 per page for all other countries.
The rest of this appendix lists articles of general interest that lead deeper into the subject of triticale as well as citations for the papers footnoted throughout the report.
Amaya, A. and B. Skovmand. 1985. Current status of hexaploid triticale quality. Pages 603- 606 in Genetics and Breeding of Triricale: Proceedings of the Third Eucarpia Meeting of the Cereal Section on Triticale, Clermont-Ferrand (France), 2-5 July 1984. Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Paris.
Batterham' E.S. 1986. Nutritional value of triticale for the feeding of livestock. Pages 495-501 in Proceedings of International Triticale Symposium Sydney, 1986. Occasional Publication No. 24, Australian Institute of Agricultural Science, Sydney, Australia.
Bertrand J.E. and L.S. Dunavin. 1974. Triticale, alone and in a mixture, for grazing by growing beef calves. Proceedings of Soil Crop Science Society of Florida 33:48-50.
Bishnoi, U.R. and G.A. Patel. 1979. Comparative yield performance and digestibility of triticale (cultivars) and other small grain forages (rye, wheat, oats, and barley). Wheat Information Service (50):41-44. Wheat Information Service, Kihara Institute for Biological Research, Yokohama, Japan.
Bishnoi, U.R., 1. Chitapong, 1. Hughes, and J. Nishimuta. 1978. Quantity and quality of triticale and other small grain silage. Agronomy Journal 70:439-441.
Bragg, D.B. and T.F, Sharby. 1970. Nutritive value of triticale for broiler chick diets. Poultry Science 49:1022.
Cicin, N.V. 1972. Die entfernte Hybridisierung von Gramineen (Prozesse der Formenbildung und Methoden zur Uberwindung der Sterilitat), [Distant hybridisation of gramineous plants (process of form development and methods to overcome sterility)]. Deutsche Akademie der Landwirtschaftswissenschaft Tagungsbericht 120:13-28.
CIMMYT. 1986. Spring Triticale. Names; Parentage; Pedigrees; Origins. Compiled by O.S.
Abdalla, G. Varughese, E.E. Saari, and H. Braun. CIMMYT, Mexico.
CIMMYT. 1985. Industrial quality of hexaploid triticale. Pages 66-73 in CIMMYT Research Highlights 1984. CIMMYT, Mexico.
CIMMYT. 1985. Triticale-a crop for marginal environments. Pages 72-80 in CIMMYT Research Highlights 1985. CIMMYT, Mexico
Clark, R.B. 1982. Plant response to mineral element toxicity and deficiency. Page 80 in
Breeding Plants for Less Favorable Environments, edited by M.N. Christiansen and C.F.
Lewis. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., Toronto, Canada.
Cooper, K.V. 1985. The Australian Triticale Cookery Book. Savvas Publishing, Adelaide, South Australia.
Darvey, N.L., ed. 1986. Proceedings of International Triticale Symposium, Sydney, 1986.
Occasional Publication No. 24, Australian Institute of Agricultural Science, Sydney, Australia.
Davis, R.L. and B.C. Radcliffe. 1984. Performance of growing pigs fed wheat, barley or triticale. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture and Animal Husbandry 24:501-506.
Erickson, J.P., E.R. Miller, F.C. Elliot, P.K. Ku, and D.E. Ullrey. 1979. Nutritional evaluation of triticale in swine starter and grower diets. Journal of Animal Science 48:547-553.
European Association for Research on Plant Breeding. 1985. Genetics and Breeding of Triticale: Proceedings of the Third Eucarpia Meeting of the Cereal Section on Triticale, Clermont-Ferrand (France), 2-5 July 1984. Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Paris.
Farrell, D.J., C.C. Chan, and F. McCrae. 1983. A nutritional evaluation of triticale with pigs. Animal Feed Science Technology 9:49-62.
Forsberg, R.A., editor. 1985. Triticale. Crop Science Society of America Special Publication No. 9. American Society of Agronomy, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
Gill, K.S. 1986. Current status and future prospects of breeding triticale. Pages 84-104 in Proceedings of International Triticale Symposium, Sydney, 1986. Occasional Publication No. 24, Australian Institute of Agricultural Science, Sydney, Australia.
Gupta, P.K. and P.M. Priyadarshan. 1982. Triticale: present status and future prospects. Advances in Genetics 21:255-345.
Gustafson, J.P. 1983. Cytogenetics of triticale. Pages 225-250 in Cytogenetics of Crop Plants, edited by M.S. Swaminathan, P.K. Gupta, and U. Sinha. New York, Macmillan.
Hulse, J.H. and E.M. Laing. 1974. Nutritive Value of Triticale Protein. International Development Research Centre, IDRC-021e, Ottawa, Canada.
Institut Technique des Céréales et des Fourrages (ITCF). 1985. Triticale: Culture et Utilisation. ITCF, Paris, France.
Islam, A.K.M.R. and K.W. Shepherd. 1980. Meiotic restitution in wheat-barley hybrids. Chromosoma (Berlin) 79:363-372.
Johnson, R.J. 1986. The digestibility of nitrogen and amino acids in triticale grain by meat- type poultry. Pages 502-506 in Proceedings of International Triticale Symposium, Sydney, 1986. Occasional Publication No. 24, Australian Institute of Agricultural Science, Sydney, Australia.
Khan A.M. and B.O. Eggum. 1979. The nutritional quality of some Pakistani wheat varieties.
Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 30:779-784.
Lorenz, K. and R.J. Welsh. 1974. In Triticale: First Man-Made Cereal, edited by C.C. Tsen.
American Association of Cereal Chemists, St. Paul, Minnesota.
Lorenz, K., R.J. Welsh, R. Normann, G. Beetner, and A. Frey. Extrusion processing of triticale. Journal of Food Science 39(3):572-576.
Lorenz, K., F.W. Reuter, and C. Sizar. 1976. The mineral composition of triticales and triticale milling fractions by X-ray fluorescence and atomic absorption. Cereal Chemistry 51:534-542.
Lukaszewski, A.J. and J.P. Gustafson. 1984. The effect of rye chromosomes on heading date triticale x wheat hybrids. Zeitschrift fur Pflanzenzuchtung 93:246-250.
McGinnis, J. 1972. Report to Rockefeller Foundation and CIMMYT. Department of Animal Science, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington 99163, USA.
Metzger, R.J. 1974. Triticale: its potential as a cereal crop in the United States. Pages 75-80 in Triticale: Proceedings of an International Symposium, El Batan, Mexico, 13 October 1973, edited by R. Maclntyre and M. Campbell. International Development Research Centre, IDRC-024e, Ottawa, Canada.
Michela, P. and K. Lorenz. 1976. The vitamins of triticale, wheat, and rye. Cereal Chemistry 53:853-861.
Moody, E.G. 1973. Triticale in dairy cattle rations. Feedstuffs 45(8):38.
Morris, R. and E.R. Sears. 1987. The cytogenetics of wheat and its relatives. Pages 1987 in Wheat and Wheat Improvement, edited by K.S. Quinsberry and L.P. Reitz. Second edition.
Monograph Number 13, American Society of Agronomy, Madison, Wisconsin.
Muntzing, A. 1979. Triticale: results and problems. Advances in Plant Breeding
Supplement No. 10 to Journal of Plant Breeding. Verlag Paul Parey, Berlin and Hamburg, Federal Republic of Germany.
Myer, R.O. and Barnett, R.D. 1985. Triticale ('Beagle 82') as an energy and protein source in diets for starting growing-finishing swine. Nutrition Reports International 31:181-190.
Pena, R.J. and G.M. Ballance. 1987. Comparision of gluten quality in triticale: fractional reconstitution study. Cereal Chemistry 64:128-132.
Planchon, C. 1985. Photosynthesis, transpiration, resistance to CO2 transfer, and water efficiency of flag leaf of bread wheat, durum wheat and triticale. Euphytica 28(2):403408.
Rossi, L. 1978. In Technology for Increasing Food Production, edited by J.C. Holmes. FAO, Rome
Saari, E., G. Varughese, and O.S. Abdalla. 1986. Triticale diseases: distribution and importance. Pages 208-231 in Proceedings of International Triticale Symposium, Sydney, 1986. Occasional Publication No. 24, Australian Institute of Agricultural Science, Sydney, Australia.
Sekhon, K.S., K.S. Gill, A.K. Saxena, and G.S. Sandha. 1980a. Studies on the bread cookie and chapati making properties of some high yielding varieties of triticale. Pages 178-186 in Proceedings of Wheat and Your Needs. New Delhi, India.
Sekhon, K.S., A.K. Saxena, S.K. Randhawa, and K.S. Gill. 1980b. Use of triticale for bread, cookie and chapati making. Journal of Food Science Technology 17:233-235.
Shimada, A., T.R. Cline, and J.C. Rogler. 1974. Nutritive value of triticale for the nonruminant. Journal of Animal Science 38:935-940.
Skovmand, B., P.N. Fox, and R.L. Villareal. 1984. Triticale in commercial agriculture: progress and promise. Advances in Agronomy 37:1-45.
Skovmand, B., H.J. Braun, and P.N. Fox. 1985. Comparison of agronomic and quality characteristics of complete and substituted hexaploid spring triticale. Pages 29-34 in Genetics and Breeding of Triticale: Proceedings of the Third Eucarpia Meeting of the Cereal Section on Triticale, Clermont-Ferrand (France), 2-5 July 1984. Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Paris.
Suijs, L.W. 1986. Le triticale aux Pays-gas, Allemagne Federale, Royaume Uni et le Pays de Gallesc. In Triticale: International Colloquium. Ghent, Belgium, Industriele Hogeschool van het Rijk C.T.L.
Taverner, M.R. 1986. The digestibility by pigs of amino acids in triticale, wheat and rye. Pages 507-510 in Proceedings of International Triticale Symposium, Sydney, 1986.
Occasional Publication No. 24, Australian Institute of Agricultural Science, Sydney, Australia.
Taverner, M.R., I.D. Hume, and D.J. Farrell. 1981. Availability to pigs of amino acids in cereal grains. 1. Endogenous levels of amino acids in ileal digesta and faeces of pigs given cereal diets. British Journal of Nutrition 46(l):149-159.
Taverner, M.R., I.D. Hume, and D.J. Farrell. 1981. Availability to pigs of amino acids in cereal grains. 2. Apparent and true ileal availabinty. British Journal of Nutrition 46(1):159-171.
Tschermak, E. and H. Bleier. 1926. Uberfruchtbare Aegilops-Weizenbastarde. (Beispiele fur die Entstehung neuer Arten durch Bastardierung.) [Fertile Aegilops-wheat hybrids.
(Examples of the origin of a new species by hybridzation.)] Berichte der Deutschen Botanischen Gesellschaft 44(2): 110-132.
Tsitsin, N.V. 1960. Wide Hybridization in Plants. Pages 1-30, English translation by Israel Program for Scientific Translations, 1962.
Unrau, A.M. and B.S. Jenkins. 1964. Investigations on synthetic cereal species. Milling, baking and some compositional characteristics of some triticale and parental species. Cereal Chemistry 41(5):365-375.
Varughese, G. 1986. Triticale-a crop for marginal environments. Pages 72-80 in CIMMYT Research Highlights 1985. CIMMYT, Mexico.
Varughese, G., E.E. Saari, and O.S. Abdalla. 1986. Two decades of triticale breeding and research at CIMMYT. Pages 148-169 in Proceedings of International Triticale Symposium, Sydney, 1986. Occasional Publication No. 24, Australian Institute of Agricultural Science, Sydney, Australia.
Varughese, G., T. Barker, and E. Saari. 1987. Triticale. CIMMYT, Mexico, D.F.
Villegas, E., B.O. Eggum, S.K. Vasal, and M.M. Kohli. 1980. Progress in nutritional improvement of maize and triticale. Food and Nutrition Bulletin 2(1):17-24.
Wu, Y.V., A.C. Stringfellow, R.A. Anderson, K.R. Sexson, and J.S. Wall. 1978. Triticale for food uses. Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry 26: 1039-1048.
Zillinsky, F.J. 1973. Triticale breeding and research at CIMMYT: a progress report. CIMMYT Research Bulletin 24:74-84. CIMMYT, Mexico.
Zillinsky, F.J. 1974. The development of triticale. Advances in Agronomy 26:315-349.
Zillinsky, F.J. 1985. Triticale: an update on yield, adaptation, and world production. Pages 1-7 in Triticale. CSSA Special Publication No. 9. Madison, Wisconsin, USA, Crop Science Society of America.
Zillinsky, F.J. and N.E. Borlaug. 1971. Progress in developing triticale as an economic crop.
CIMMYT Research Bulletin 17:1-27. CIMMYT, Mexico.
The main body of triticale experience described in this book is currently at CIMMYT, whose address is Lisboa 27, Apartado Postal 6-641, 06600 Mexico,
D.F., Mexico. Individual researchers with specific triticale expertise include the following:
Osman Abdalla Arnoldo Amaya C. Roberto Javier Pena B. Paul Fox Lucy Gilchrist S.
Wolfgang H. Pfeiffer Bent Skovmand Enrique Torres George Varughese
There is, however, a wealth of experience with triticale in countries outside Mexico, including the following:
Paraguay
CIMMYT, C-C 1170, Ascuncion (Pat Wall, Mohan Kohli)
Turkey
CIMMYT, PK 39 Emek, Ankara (Byrd Curtis, Gene Saari, H. J. Brown)
Argentina
Saniago Garbini, INTA, Estacion Experimental Agricola, Bordenave Bayary
Australia
E.S. Batterham, North Coast Agricultural Institute, Wollongbar, New South Wales 2480
Department of Agricultural Genetics and Biometry, The University of Sydney, New South
Wales 3006 (Norman L. Darvey, T.P. Angus, G.J. Gale, R.M. Trethowan, B.J. Sutton, F.W. Ellison)
Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Animal Research Institute, Werribee, Victoria 3300 (R.J. Johnson, M.R. Taverner)
Department of Agronomy, Waite Agricultural Institute, University of Adelaide, Glen Osmond,
South Australia 5064 (Katharine V. Cooper, D.R. Marshall, Ian Dundas, Robin Graham, Kenneth Shepherd)
Department of Agronomy and Soil Science, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales 2351 (G.C. Sweenye, H.C. Harris, R.S. Jessop, P.W. Sale, P. Tremain, C. Hill, R. Wright, E. Matheson)
C. Joannides, Victorian Crops Research Institute, Horsham, Victoria 3400
C.E. May, N.S.W. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Institute, Wagga Wagga, New South Wales 2650
R. Mclntosh, University of Sydney Plant Breeding Institute, P.O. Box 180, Castle Hill, New South Wales 2154
R. McLean, Western Australia Department of Agriculture, Baron-Hay Court, South Perth, Western Australia 6151
Geoffrey Smart, Pacific Seeds, P.O. Box 337, Toowoomba, Queensland 4350
Bolivia
Oscar Flores Sandoval, Casilla de Correo No. 1153, La Paz
Luis Pierola M., Casilla 3161, Cochabamba
Casiano Quintana Carvajal, Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropico (CIAT), Av. Ejercito 131, Casilla 247, Santa Cruz
Brazil
CNPT/EMBRAPA, Caixa Postal 569, 99100, Passo Fundo, Rio Grande do Sul (Augusto Carlos Baier, J.L. Nedel)
Bulgaria
Institute of Genetics, Sofia 1113, (Zdravka Sabeva, Pravda Balevska, Irina Vassileva)
Iliya Stankov, Institute of Introduction and Plant Genetic Resources, 4122, Sadovo, Plovdiv
District
Stoyan Tsvetkov, Institute of Wheat and Sunflower, 9500 General Toshevo, Tolbuhin
Canada
Alberta Agriculture, Field Crops Branch, 5718-56 Avenue, Bag Service #47, Lacombe,
Alberta TOC 1S0 (James Helm, Don Salmon)
W. Bushuk, c/o St. Paul's College, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 2N2
George Fedak, Cytogenetics Section, Research Station, Research Branch, Agriculture
Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0C6
L.A. Hunt, Crop Science Department, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2WI
Edward N. Larter, Department of Plant Science, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba
R3T 2N2
J. Grant McLeod, Agriculture Canada Research Station, P.O. Box 1030, Swift Current,
Saskatchewan, S9H 3X2
L. Shebeski, Department of Plant Science, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T
2N2
J.B. Thomas, Agriculture Canada Research Station, Lethbridge, Alberta TIJ 4S4
F.J. Zillinsky, 1385 McMahon Avenue, Gloucester, Ontario, KIT 1C2
Chile
E. E. Purque , Facultad de Agronomia, Pontifica Universidad Cato1ica de Chile, Casilla 114-
D, Santiago
Colombia
Rodrigo Britto M., CRI Obonuco, Apartado Aereo 339, Pasto
Alvaro Montes Ramirez, Federacion Nacional de Cultivadores de Cereales (FENALCE),
Apartado Aereo #8694, Bogota
Ecuador
Cesar Caceres Rueda, Ministerio de Agricultura Yganderia, Av. Amazonas y Eloy Alfaro, 10
Piso
Victor Hugo Cardoso C., Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Agropecuarias (INIAP), Casilla 340, Quito
Ethiopia
Hailu Gebre-Mariam, P.O. Box 3745, Addis Ababa
Federal Republic of Germany
Tamas Lelley, Institut fur Pflanzenbau und Pflanzenzuchtung, Universitat Gottingen, Von Siebold Strasse 8, D-3400 Gottingen
Gitta Oettler, Landessaatzuchtanstalt Universitat Hohenheim, Postfach 70 05 62, D-7000 Stuttgart 70
L. Seidewitz, Institut fur Pflanzenbau und Pflanzenzuchtung (FAL), Bundesallee 50, D-3300 Braunschweig
Federal Research Centre for Cereal and Potato Processing, Detmold (D. Weipert, B.
Fretzdorff, K. Seiler)
Jutta Zeddies, Frenke, Am Thie 2, D-3254 Emmerthal 16
Finland
Department of Plant Breeding, University of Helsinki, 00710 Helsinki (P. Ryoppy, P.M.A. Tigerstedt, J. Honkanen)
E. I. Kivi, Hankkija Plant Breeding Institute, SF-04300 Hyryla
France
Yves Beaux, Laboratoire Institut Technique des Cereales et Fourrages, 16 rue N. Fortin, F-75013 Paris
Semences Cargill, B.P. 17, Boissay, 28390 Toury (Jean-Pierre Jaubertie, Guy Dorlencourt)
J. N. Caron, SOGROUP, Selection Cereales, 9 rue de Faches, Coutiches, 59310 Orchies
Louis Foret, Agri-Obtentions, B. P. 53, 78193 Trappes Cedex
Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Station d'Amelioration des Plantes,
Domaine de Crouelle, 63039 Clermont-Ferrand Cedex (Michel Bernard Directeur Programme.Triticale; Michel Lafarge, Sylvie Bernard; Gilles Charmet)
Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Station de Pathologie Vegetale,
Centre de Recherches de Versailles, Route de St. Cyr, 78000 F Versailles (Michele Skajennikoff, Frantz Rapilly)
J. P. Josset, Graines Franco Sueduises, Station de Selection Weibull, Semonville Cedex 1824, 28310 Janville
Michel Lafarge, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), 12 avenue du Brezet, 63039 Clermont-Ferrand
G. Laroche, Institut Technique des Cereales et Fourrages (ITCF), 7 rue Montlosier, 63000 Clermont-Ferrand
Jean Paul Legoff, Societe R.A.G.T., 18 rue Seguret Saincric, 12003 Rodez Cedex German Democratic Republic
R. Schlegel, Zentralinstitut fur Genetik und Kulturpflanzenforschung, Akademie der Wissenschaften der DDR, DDR-4325 Gatersleben, Corrensstrasse 3
A. Winkel, Institut fur Pflanzenzuchtung, Akademie der Landwirtschaftswissenschaften der DDR Republik, 2601 Gulzow
Greece
Pantousis J. Kaltsikes, The Athens School of Agricultural Sciences, Iera Odos 75, 118 55,
Athens
India
Department of Plant Breeding, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana 141 004 (Khem Singh Gill, R.K. Vellanki, G.S. Sandha, G.S. Dhindsa, A. Nityagopal, G.S. Nanda)
P.K. Gupta, Department of Agricultural Botany, Meerut University, Meerut
A. Ramachandra Reddy, Department of Botany, Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati,
District Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh 517 502
G.M. Reddy, Department of Genetics, Osmania University, Hyderabad
Italy
ENEA-C.R.E. Casaccia, Biologiche ed Agrarie-Dip. TECAB, S.P., Anguillarese Km
1.300, 00100 Rome (Luigi Rossi, B. Giorgi)
Leto Impiglia, Cereals Programme for Africa, Crop and Grassland Production Service, Plant Production and Protection Division, F.A.O., Via delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome
Japan
Faculty of Agriculture, Tottori University, Tottori 680 (M. Sasaki, S. Muraoka, N. Nakata, Y. Yasumuro)
Kazuyoshi Natori, Experimental Farm, Kyoto University, Takatsuki, Osaka, 569
Shoji Shigenaga, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kyoto, 606
Madagascar
M. Rakotondramanana, Fifamanor, P.O. Box 198, Antsirabe 110
Netherlands
CEBECO, Plant Breeding Station, Lisdoddeweg 36, 8219 PR Lelystad
Department of Genetics, Agricultural University, General Foulkesweg 53, 6703 BM
Wageningen (J. Sybenga, J. H. de Jong)
Foundation for Agricultural Plant Breeding, P.O. Box 117, 6700 AC Wageningen
Loek W. Sus, Geertsema Zaden BV, NL-9700 AK Groningen
Norway
Jon Mjaerum, Department of Crop Science, Box 41, N-1432 AAS-NLH
Pakistan
Nuclear Institute for Agriculture and Biology, Faisalabad (M. Siddique Sadiq, M. Saleem, Javed Iqbal)
People's Republic of China
Wen-Kui Bao, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing
Peru
Rene Romero Davalos, Avenida Sol-Pasaje Grace-Edif. San Jorge, 4to piso F., Cuzco
Anibal Tamayo E., San Miguel #240, Cuzco
Poland
Zofia Banaszak Poznan Plant Breeders, Plant Breeding Station, Dank6w 05-620 Bredow
Lidia Bmykryviska, Poznan Plant Breeders, Plant Breeding Station, Dankow, 05-620
Bredow
L. Grochowski, Experimental Breeding Station, 63-743 Smolice
Teresa Huskowska, Plant Breeding Station, LASKI, 05-660 Warka
B. Lapinski, Plant Breeding and Acclimatization Station ''Malyszyn," ul. Szczecinska
15, 66-400 Gorzow Wlkp.
Plant Breeding Institute, Radzikow, P.O. Box 1019, 00-950 Warsaw (Andrzej Aniol, Wladyslaw Sowa, Maria Rakowska, Danuta Boros)
Miroslaw Pojmaj, Poznan Plant Breeders, Plant Breeding Station, Dankow 05-620
Bredow
Ewa Sawicka, Laboratory of Genetics and Mutagenesis, Botanical Garden, Polish Academy of Sciences, W. Pravdziwka 2, P.O. Box 84, 02-973 Warsaw
Andrzej Szotkowski, SHR Choryn, 64-005 Racot
Ryszard Szymczyk, The Research Center for Cultivars Testing, 63-022 Slupia Wielka
Czeslaw Tarkowski, Instytut Cenetyki i Hodowli, Akademia Rolnicza, 20-934 Lublin, ul. Akademicka 15
Tadeusz Wolski, Poznanska Hodowla Roslin, Wspolna 30, 00-930 Warsaw
Portugal
Francisco Bagulho, National Plant Breeding Station, 7351 Elvas Codex
Manuel Barradas, Director, National Station for Plant Breeding P-7350 Elvas Codex
T. Mello-Sampayo, Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciencia, Apartado i4, 2781 Oeiras Codex
Universidade de Tras-os-Montes e Alto Douro, 5000 Vila Real (Divisao de Cenetica e Melhoramento de Plantas, H. Guedes-Pinto, Head, Divisao de Nutricao Animal A. Dias-da-Silva, A. Mascarenhas Ferreira; Dep. Economia e Sociologia, J.F.G. Portela; Divisao de Solos e Fertilidade. Ester Portela, Joao F. Coutinho; Departamento de Geociencias, A.L. Pires, Departamento de Fitotecnia. Carlos A.B.B. Castro)
Spain
Departamento de Genetica Agraria. Escuela T.S. Ingenieros Agronomos, Ciudad Universitaria, 28040 Madrid (Enrique Sanchez-Monge y Parellada, Jose Maria Carillo Becerril)
Institut d ' Investigacio i Desen volupament Agrari , 25006 Lerida (J . A. Martin Sanchez , I. Romagosa)
Nicolas Jouve, Director del Departmento de Biologia Celular y Genetica, Universidad de Alcala de Henares, Apartado 20, Alcala de Henares, Madrid
Ramon Giraldez, Departmento de Biologia Funcional, Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo
Sweden
Arnulf Merker, Svalof AB, S-26800 Svalov
Switzerland
Swiss Federal Research Station for Agriculture, CH-1260 Nyon (G. Kleijer, gene bank; A. Fossati, breeding department)
Tunisia
Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique de Tunisie (INRAT), Ave de l'lndependance,
Ariana 2080 (M. Lassram, Director; B. Salem, food value and technology use; R. A.
Maamouri, triticale improvement)
Bergaoui Ridha, Ecole Superieure d'Agriculture, 7030 Mateur
Turkey
Macit Ulubelde, Director, The Library Regional Agricultural Research Institute, P.O. Box 9,
Menemen-Izmir
United Kingdom
Plant Breeding Institute, Maris Lane, Trumpington, Cambridge CB2 2LQ, England (R.S. Gregory, P.J. Webb, P.R. Hampson, R.A. Kempton)
M. R. Ward, Asmer Seed Company, 1500 Melton Road, Queniborough, Leicester LE7 8FN,
England
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
A.A. Sozinov, N.I. Vavilov Institute of General Genetics. USSR Academy of Sciences, Moscow
Triticale Laboratory, V. Y. Yuryev Ukrainian Research Institute of Plant Production, Breeding and Genetics, 142, Moskovsky prospekt, Kharkov. 310060 (Grigori Gorban)
United States of America
Thomas Barker, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853
Ronald Barnett, North Florida Research and Education Center, University of Florida, 3, Box 4370, Quincy, Florida 32351
Marshall Brinkman, Department of Agronomy, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706
Philip Bruckner, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Tifton, Georgia 31793
Robert Busch, Department of Agronomy, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota 55108
Fred Cholick, Department of Plant Science, South Dakota State University, Box 2230, Brookings,South Dakota 57007
Fred C. Elliott, 1084 Angus Way, Yuma, Arizona 85364
Emanuel Epstein, Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, Hoagland Hall, University of California, Davis, California 95616
Bikram Gill, Professor, Department of Plant Pathology, Throckmorton Hall, Kansas State
University, Manhattan, Kansas 66506
J.P. Gustafson, Department of Agronomy, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211
Robert G. Hall, Department of Plant Science, South Dakota State University, Box 2230, Brookings, South Dakota 57007
Charles Hayward Pioneer International Hybrid Seed Company, Hutchinson, Kansas
Charles Jenkins, il8A Cayuga Street, Salinas, California 93901
A.R. Klatt, Assistant Dean, International Programs, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma 74078
Mathias Kolding, Cereal Breeder, Columbia Basin Research Center, P.O. Box 105, Hermiston, Oregon 97838
Klaus Lorenz, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523
Adam J. Lukaszewski, Department of Agronomy, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211
Milton E. McDaniel, Department of Soil and Crop Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843
James McGinnis, Department of Animal Science, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington 99164
Robert J. Metzger 2838 N.W. 29th, Corvallis, Oregon 97330
Darrell D. Morey Department of Agronomy, University of Georgia, Coastal Plain Experimental Station, Tifton, Georgia 31793
Robert Myer, University of Florida Agricultural Research and Education Center, Route 3, Box 376, Marianna, Florida 32446
Stan Nalepa, Sun/Seeds Genetics, Inc., 9800 Fairview Road, Hollister, California 95023
Clarence J. Peterson, Jr., 209 Johnson Hall, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington 99163
Kenneth Porter, Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Southwestern Great Plains Research Center Bushland, Texas 79012
Robert Riestenberg, Lupin-Triticale Enterprise P.O. Box 187, Perham, Minnesota 56573
V.T. Sapra, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Studies, Alabama A&M University, Normal, Alabama 35762
D. Thomas Savage, Department of Poultry Science, Dryden Hall, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331-3402
John Schmidt, c/o Agronomy Department, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588
R.G. Sears, Agronomy Department, Kansas Sate University, Manhattan, Kansas 66506
Mark Sorrells, Department of Plant Breeding and Biometry, Cornell University, 252 Emerson
Hall, Ithaca, New York 14850
James Vetter, America Institute of Baking, 1213 Bakers Way, Manhattan, Kansas 66502
"In putting this report together, we came across a remarkable document that, although humorous in outlook, summarizes in large measure the interrelationship of wheat, rye, and triticale that is at the heart of the report. We present it here for general interest."
If Chromosomes Could Speak . . . by Henrique Guedes-Pinto and Tristao Mello-Sampayo
THE TRITICALE MANIFESTO
We belong to the party of the R chromosomes, the chromosomes of rye, that species which has been scorned and considered marginal, relegated for centuries to the poorest soils, the harshest winter conditions, rarely receiving adequate fertilizer.
And all this in favor of wheat, a crop which has been held in high esteem since Biblical times. Man has always given wheat the benefits of the most fertile lands and valleys, the best fertilizers and care, the most up-to-date research and technology, and the highest quotation on the grain market.
The question must be asked: What are the consequences of this elitist situation that rejects rye in favor of wheat?
The consequences are all too clear-monoculture, with self-pollinating plant species, with the consequent risk of rapidly spreading disease and blight; the powerful cereal monopolies
(and their accompanying economic and political interests); and, most serious of all, the alarming "genocide" resulting from the continuous impoverishment of genetic variability, that unique treasure trove accumulated by Nature in the course of evolution and now being squandered through the overcultivation of a very few selected genotypes of wheat, pompously designated as "cultivars." This situation has caused the progressive elimination and loss of all other existing and potential genetic combinations.
Rye, as an allogamous plant, takes pride in its role as the preserver of a significant degree of genetic variability, even as it sees its cultivation area further diminished every year.
It is essential that people be informed of this state of affairs immediately. We must put a stop to this elitism once and for all, not only because it is unjust but because it represents a grave danger to the future.
Nevertheless, since it is not our intention to do away with one injustice (the privileged status of wheat) only to replace it with another (extensive monoculture of rye), we propose a united front of all wheat and rye chromosomes in which the chromosomes of both species, working side by side, will be able to participate in the gigantic and heroic task of creating a new cereal: Triticale.
Wheat and rye chromosomes unite! Let us create one common front and banish the old injustices and privileges forever. Let us, with this union of our combined genetic information, build a New Cereal, the Cereal of the Future.
COUNTER MANIFESTO BY THE WHEAT RELATIVES
It was with astonishment and strong displeasure that we, the wheat relatives of the genus
Aegilops, Agropyron, Elymus, etc., came upon the pamphlet entitled "The Triticale Manifesto."
In the said document, rye claims that it has been squeezed out, a victim of discrimination by wheat. This is a curious statement indeed from a cereal of great importance during the
Middle Ages and one that has always benefited from being an alternative crop for those areas rejected by wheat as unsuited to its temperament.
Even more curious is the fact that rye, in protesting against its relegation to inferior status and denouncing the injustices of the status of wheat, forgot to mention its own kin of the same genus, Secale vavilovii, Secale segetale, Secale ancestrale, etc., species which have indeed been disregarded and sometimes even subjected to persistent elimination from cereal culture altogether.
Even if it could be claimed that rye has been rejected as an important cereal crop, what could then be said of the sorry situation of genera Aegilops, Agropyron, Hyanaldia, etc., which are the real victims of discrimination? It seems that rye is conveniently glossing over a whole gamut of Triticinae genera, which once played a fundamental role in the evolution of wheat itself and now find themselves totally ignored and the victims of discrimination.
The situation is all the more despotic and unjust when one considers that they are also legitimate descendants of wheat's ancestors and living repositories of Triticinae variability.
Could it be that rye, in speaking of the genetic erosion that wheat suffered and is suffering, forgets that the preservation of genetic variability lies with us, the species designated as "wild wheat" or sometimes."relatives" of wheat?
Was it not from Triticum dicoccoides that high-protein grains were obtained and from the Aegilops ventricosa that the genes resistant to Pseudocercosporella herpotrichoides
(eyespot) were taken for wheat, which lacked them or had already lost them? And was it not from the Aegilops umbellulata, Aegilops comosa, Agropyron elongatum, and Agropyron intermedium that resistance to rust was taken? How many more resistances and other desirable characteristics can yet be taken from the genetic pools?
Here lies the reason for our denunciation of the false claims uttered by the supporters of rye through their "Triticale Manifesto," which is but another form of elitism in disguise.
It is for this that we launch a new manifesto, not aiming at strict class alliances, but proposing the formation of a new repository of cereals, regardless of their genomic constitution or ploidy level. We work toward a movement in which all cereal chromosomes will be united, not only in one New Cereal (pompously designated "the first man-made cereal") but also in other new cereals besides Triticale such as Hordecale (amphidiploid of barley and rye), Triticordeum (amphidiploid of wheat and barley) and many more, not scorning any contribution, be it of chromosomes or only a few genes found in countless other gramineous strains, that will prove to be of undeniable Value to the betterment of many cereals.
Chromosomes! Let us form a REAL FRONT in the fight for new cereals so that we may, united and independent of ploidy levels or genomic makeup, be victorious in the struggle for a greater and better grain production,
REACTION OF WHEAT
Awake O ye Gods! Woe betide! My sisters, members of the subtribe Triticinae, are remonstrating against me with cries of discrimination. And more, they aggravate their deed by slandering none other than myself, whose nobility is above reproach-I, who have done all to further their station, serving as a beacon in their difficult voyage from remote sites of the Near East or the fringe of arid frontiers to the fertile and glorious fields of modern agriculture; I who have twice joined in alliance with my poorer relatives, only to have them complain of my slighting them. The problem goes back to when I, in my original diploid form as
Triticum monococcum and enjoying comfort and peace in my Fertile Crescent stronghold, started good-neighborly relations with a poor relative, a diploid Aegilops of the Sitopsis
Section, probably Aegilops searsii. Soon, enamored of each other, we joined our genomes (my A with her B), and in this way, duplicating our chromosome complement, we generated an allotetraploid wheat, the wild ancestor of the most noble durum wheat of contemporary pasta. Thus joined, we expanded our area to the North until we came upon another diploid relative, the poor and isolated Aegilops squarrosa. At my suggestion, there was a new crossing, adding in this manner the genome D to the two already linked. This union proved to be of immeasurable genetic potential, as it enabled the new allohexaploid to generate many other kinds, finally achieving that prodigy of perfection and ubiquity, Triticum aestivum, the common bread wheat that we are today.
It was on account of this potential that Man, our true master, was able to isolate, create, and select an untold number of cultivars, which presently encircle the world from end to end in a fraternal and loving embrace, so that we now constitute the staple food of more than 40 countries representing 35 percent of the population of the globe. With his knowledge and ingenuity, our master fashioned these cultivars to fit the requirements of different environments, a feat made possible only by the great capability for variation brought about by our three genomes A, B. and D. Gradually we helped Man settle on the land by guaranteeing him his daily bread. We helped to free him from the darkness and insecurity of nomadic, pastoral life, enabling him to form stable, permanent communities. This new order greatly furthered Man's creativity and the progress of civilization.
In order to reach certain remote areas, we had to travel in the saddlebags and knapsacks of pilgrims, warriors and navigators; we were present at many of History's great moments; we have seen the building of cities, the rise and fall of kingdoms, the beginning and end of empires, the founding of new religions; we have walked alongside many great thinkers, poets, prophets and men of goodwill. Since the earliest civilizations, our bread has been made sacred and, embodying Love and Hope, it has reached the mouths of the humble and starving. We were avariciously kept for millennia in the funerary chambers of powerful kings and lords. Finally, we have arrived at this marvelous but terrifying contemporary civilization, where we are so esteemed and desired.
And do these sisters of mine still doubt my fondness for them? Behold, see how I acceded to an alliance with that outcast of marginal land, Secale cereale (rye), in order to generate triticale, without in any way depleting my natural potential for variability. See how I have already made pact with other sisters (species of the genera Aegilops, Agropyron, Haynaldia, etc.), resigning myself to the removal of the Ph suppressors of homeologous chromosomes pairing so that, in the hybrids, my precious chromosomes would readily join with those of my partners in meiosis, facilitating genetic interchange. To them I have conceded the privilege of undergoing gene recombination with me. Furthermore, I have already consented to a private consultation with my distant cousin barley for similar purposes.
I do recognize that thousands of years elapsed between each of my first alliances.
Considering my sisters' longevity, however, should they not show more patience in such matters? In any case, the moment has come for them to calm their millennary fears, since genetic engineering is demonstrating new abilities for diverse achievements, both chromosomal and molecular. It is now possible to transfer and to associate in one plant the nascent, I would even venture to say ideal, characteristics of a new cereal in which I will undoubtedly be the predominant element.
Do not forget then, my sisters, that without me you are worth very little, but that I am always at your side to help pull your feet from the mire.
Let us have no more despondency, provocations or threats.
WILLIAM L. BROWN, retired president and chairman of Pioneer Hi-Bred International, received his Ph.D. from Washington University (St. Louis) in 1942. He joined Pioneer in 1945 as a cytogeneticist and did research in maize genetics and breeding until 1965, when he was appointed director of corporate research. He was elected executive vice president in
1973 and president in 1975. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and currently serves as chairman of the Board on Agriculture, National Research Council-
National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Brown's research has centered around maize genetics and breeding, racial relationships in maize, evolution of North American maize, and conservation and utilization of genetic resources.
RICARDO BRESSANI, head of the Divison of Food and Agricultural Science and research coordinator of the Institute of Nutrition of Central America and Panama (INCAP), Guatemala, received his Ph.D. in biochemistry from Purdue University in 1956; an M.S. from Iowa State University, and a B.S. from the University of Dayton. He has been a member of the professional staff of INCAP since 1956 and visiting professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Rutgers University in nutrition and food science. His work has dealt with the nutritional quality of basic food crops and human nutrition research. After the discovery of opaque-2 at Purdue, he evaluated samples for nutritional quality using children and demonstrating the exceptional qualities of this type of maize. During his career at INCAP, Dr.
Bressani has been involved in the development of high-quality foods such as INCAPARINA, MAISOY, and others; in studying new sources of nutritents; food processing and evaluation; human and animal nutrition; and nutrition-intervention studies. His current work is on amaranth grain and food grain legumes, particularly common beans. He has published many scientific articles and chapters and has edited a number of proceedings of conferences. He is editor of Archivos Latino-Americanos de Nutricion and of the Amaranth
Newsletter. He is a foreign associate of the U. S. National Academy of Sciences, founding member of the Third World Academy of Sciences, and Doctor Honoris cause in Agriculture from Purdue University. Recently he was granted the "Albert Einstein Award" by the World Cultural Council.
DAVID V. GLOVER, professor of plant genetics and breeding, Department of Agronomy, Purdue University, received a B.S. in agronomy in 1954 and an M.S. in plant breeding in 1959 from Utah State University. He received a Ph.D. in Genetics from the University of California, Davis, in 1962, and has served on the faculty at Purdue since that time. His research has centered around the genetics, cytogenetics, physiological genetics, and breeding of maize germplasm with major emphasis on improvement of carbohydrate, protein, and nutritional quality factors. He served as principal investigator and coordinator of the Purdue-U.S. Agency for International Development project on the inheritance and improvement of protein quality and content in maize. He was involved in consultancy activities on protein and nutritional-quality improvement in cereals.
ARNEL R. HALLAUER, research geneticist, USDA/ARS, and professor of agronomy, Iowa
State University, Ames, received his Ph.D. from Iowa State University in 1960 and has been stationed at Ames, Iowa, since 1962. His research interests have emphasized basic research of maize relative to quantitative genetics, recurrent selection, and the evaluation and adaptation of exotic germplasm for the U.S. Corn Belt. He has written one book, Quantitative Genetics in Maize Breeding, serves as an editor for four journals, and has written numerous articles for scientific journals.
VIRGIL A. JOHNSON was, until recently, leader of wheat research, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and professor, University of Nebraska Lincoln. He received his Ph.D. degree in plant breeding and genetics from the University of Nebraska in 1952. He coordinates the cooperative state-federal hard red winter wheat program in central United States and supervises an international winter wheat evaluation network in 38 countries. He has been active in numerous international wheat activities. His research has involved the development of improved wheat varieties for the hard red winter wheat regions of the United States and the genetics and physiology of high protein in wheat.
CALVIN O. QUALSET, director of the California Genetic Resources Conservation Program and professor of agronomy at the University of California, received a Ph.D. in Genetics from that institution in 1964. He has served on the faculty at the University of Tennessee and was a department chairman and later associate dean at U.C. Davis during the period 1975-1986. His research area is on the genetics, breeding, and genetic resources of cereal crops, especially focusing on wheat and triticale. He leads a team that has introduced numerous wheat and triticale varieties to California agriculture and has published extensively on the genetics of characters important in adaptation of wheat to specific environments. He has served on several consultancies in developing countries and was a Fulbright Scholar to Australia in 1976 and Yugoslavia in 1984.
NOEL D. VIETMEYER, staff officer and technical writer for this study, is a senior program officer of the Board on Science and Technology for International Development. A New Zealander with a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley, he now works on innovations in science and technology that are important for the future of developing countries.