AbstractAllied species of cropBrassicashave potential value as donors of useful nuclear/organelle genomes.Eruca sativa, a member of subtribeBrassicineae, is resistant to white rust and well adapted to drought. Attempts to hybridize it withBrassica campestrisby conventional methods were unsuccessful. However, hybrids were obtained by embryo rescue and the hybrid embryos were found to produce numerous secondary embryos in upto 7 to 8 subcultures. Plantlets developed from them exhibited morphological characteristics of both parents. The chromosome number of 2n = 42 showed that they were amphidiploids. The plants were allotctraploids (2n = 42) and showed 21 bivalents at M1of meiosis. Hybridization of total DNA of the hybrids with two probes, aB. campestristandem repeat DNA and 18s ribosomal DNA of wheat showed that it was derived from the genome of both parents. The hybrids are self‐fertile and show the same high fertility even in A3generation. They were selfed or crossed withB. juncea, B. campestrisandB. nigrato screen for useful agronomical traits. Six more embryos ofE. saliva × B. campestrishave been obtained and their growth is being studied. Preliminary small scale field trials indicate that the selfed hybrid is comparable in yield with a high yielding commercial variety ofB. junc
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