Induction of Androgenesis as a Consequence of Wide Crossing

The value of haploids in genetics and plant breeding has been known for a long time. Natural haploid embryos and plants have been described in about 100 species of angiosperms, and documented in detail by Kimber and Riley (1963). However, haploids occur rarely in nature. Doubled haploids are equivalent to inbred lines, with normal fertility, retaining the advantage of homozygosity, which by conventional program of producing pure lines would require 6–7 generations of selfing to achieve a satisfactory level of homozygosity. Three principal methods of haploid production include 1. parthenogenesis, 2. wide crosses – chromosome elimination, and 3. haploid plants from anther/ovule culture. In the first method of haploid production, haploids arise from both an unfertilized eg