91(Carver and Rayburn 1994 ). According to Rajaram ( 2001 ), the main characters
associated with this translocation and, consequently, with better adaptation to mar-
ginal environments, are drought tolerance, higher biomass (Villareal et al. 1995 )
and better phosphorus extraction (Manske et al. 1996 ).
Good use of the 1RS.1BL translocation was made in Krasnodar, Russia, by
Lukyanenko ( 1973 ), who developed the winter wheat cultivars Kavkaz, Avrora,
Bezostaya 2, Skorospelka 35 and Predgornaya 2 based on the Neuzucht germplasm,
which contains a rye chromosome segment. These had direct, practical signifi cance,
as they spread widely, many of them being grown in various Eastern European
countries. The cultivars Kavkaz and Avrora, for instance, spread rapidly in Hungary
in the early 1970s, though they later became susceptible to powdery mildew.
What is perhaps of greater importance, however, is that these cultivars proved to
be excellent crossing partners for the development of new genotypes. They had
numerous valuable traits, the most outstanding of which was their disease resis-
tance. Lukyanenko’s cultivars contain the Pm8 , Lr26 , Sr31 and Yr9 resistance genes
originating from rye. Kavkaz was intensively used in the CIMMYT programme and
its favourable traits were transferred via the cultivar Veery into many successful
genotypes. In Hungary, Kavkaz and Avrora were successfully used as crossing part-
ners by breeders in Martonvásár and Szeged due to their high yield potential, good
adaptability and stem rust resistance, so by the 1990s the ratio of cultivars carrying
the 1RS.1BL translocation in crop production was around 40–50 % (Fig. 3.3 ).
According to Kőszegi et al. ( 2000 ), 35 (53 %) of the 66 Hungarian-bred wheat
cultivars registered in Hungary between 1978 and 1999 carried the 1RS.1BL trans-
location. This translocation was introduced into Hungarian breeding stock with the
19710201030405060%197219731974197519761977197819791980198119821983198419851986198719881989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013Fig. 3.3 Ratio of the growing area sown to wheat cultivars carrying the 1BL.1RS rye translocation
Hungary, 1971–2013
3 Wheat Breeding: Current Status and Bottlenecks