PRELIMINARY DIALLEL ANALYSIS OF ANTHER CULTURE RESPONSE IN WHEAT (TRITICUM-AESTIVUM L)

A four-parent complete diallele mating-set of three Triticum aestivum L. cultivars 'Edwall', 'Chris' and 'Spillman', and an alloplasmic line of 'Selkirk' in Aegilops variabilis Eig. cytoplasm was used. Genetic components among total variation for callus induction, green plant per centage and green plant yield were 92%, 80% and 77%, respectively, but lower (36%) for plant regeneration. General combining ability (GCA) v ariance components and narrow-sense heritabilities estimated for callu s induction, green plant percentage and green plant yield were 74%, 66 % and 53%, and 0.68, 0.54 and 0.43, respectively. Specific combining a bility (SCA) variance was calculated as 85% of total genetic variation for plant regeneration. Significant reciprocal effects for callus ind uction, green plant percentage and green plant yield were observed.