Wheat x rye equals triticale

IT IS THE FIRST SUCCESSFUL "MAN-MADE" CEREAL GRAIN. IT IS MORE THAN A BIOLOGICAL CURIOSITY. FOR THE TROPICS AND SUBTROPICS, IT OFFERS PROMISE OF YIELDS AND OTHER CHARACTERISTICS EQUAL TO THOSE OF WHEAT, COMBINED WITH TOLERANCE FOR DROUGHT AND POOR SOIL AND THE RESISTANCE TO DISEASE TYPICAL OF RYE. THE SUCCESS OF TRITICALE ENCOURAGES THE HOPE THAT OTHER SUCH INTERGENERIC "WIDE CROSSES" WILL SOON FOLLOW. TRITICALE HAS DEMONSTRATED AN ADAPTATION TO ACIDIC, LOW PH SOILS IN SEVERAL AREAS OF THE WORLD. SUCH CONDITIONS EXIST IN COLOMBIA, ETHIOPIA, NORTHERN INDIA, AND BRAZIL. IN EACH OF THESE COUNTRIES TRITICALES HAVE SHOWN YIELD PERFORMANCE SUPERIOR TO WHEAT. THE RESISTANCE OF TRITICALE TO BUNTS AND LOOSE SMUT AT HIGHER ELEVATIONS IS AN ADVANTAGE FOR THE CROP. ITS GREATER RESISTANCE TO SEPTORIA TRITICI IS AN ADDED ADVANTAGE IN AREAS WHERE THIS DISEASE IS PREVALENT -- BRAZIL, ARGENTINA, ETHIOPIA, AND THE MEDITERRANEAN REGION. IN KENYA AND SOME OTHER LOCATIONS, TRITICALE HAS OUTYIELDED WHEAT UNDER DROUGHT CONDITIONS. EXPERTS EXPECT THAT IN FIFTEEN YEARS TRITICALE WILL BE COMPETING SERIOUSLY WITH THE BREAD WHEATS AS ONE OF THE WORLD"S MOST IMPORTANT FOOD CROPS.