THE BREEDING OF THE NEW WHEAT VARIETY LX——35 AND AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE METHOD OF BREEDING EARLY CROPPING WHEAT

In 1973, the wheat variety Potam S-70, characterized by early cropping, dwarf stem and compact build, and the wheat variety WG-1, characterized by late cropping, high stem and heavy car, were crossed. Through conventional breeding, the new wheat variety LX-35 was obtained. LX-35 showed the following significant characteristics : early cropping, mediumheighted stem, high yielding and strong resistance to stem -rust. Its growth period was 125-130 days. The average height was 90 cm. One mu of land yielded an average of 200-250 kg and possibly 400 kg or more. Each ear contains 30-35 grains. Every thousand grains weighed 45 g. It was slightly susceptible to leaf-rust and powdery mildew. Ears were uniform in height and had strong milking capacity. The new variety presented golden stems and plump grains when ripe. Grains contained 14.13% protain and 0.35% lysine.In 1978-80, joint regional tests were made on Fujian’s varieties of wheat, including LX-35. 34 region-replications carried out in the 3 years showed that LX-35 had an average yield of 208.8 kg, 9% higher than CK, ranking first in all the varieties tested. In the planting seasons of 1980-87, LX-35 was released to many regions in Fujian, Guangdong, Shansi and Inner Mongolia, with a total area of more than five million mu, gaining significant econimic benefit.Considering the climatic Condition in zhangzhou region, the main objective of wheat breeding is to breed early cropping varieties in order to ensure bumper harvests. The work on the breeding of LX-35 proved that following the law of non-balance in development between plant organs, one may "obtain an excellent new variety by combining the character of early cropping of one cultivar with the character of productivity of another through crossing and selection.