1. A method for direct selection of androgenetic haploids is provided.

2. The percentage of primary haploids decreased with encreasing seed size.

3. Key words: recurrent selection, doubled haploids, additive, epistasis, heritability, Hordeum.

4. Key words: haploids, wild species, 2n gametes, first division restitution, second division restitution.

5. Populations of doubled haploids were produced by culturing microspores from spring barley cv.

6. Crossability of the haploids appears to be similar to the crossability of the cultivated diploid species.

7. Among abnormal embryos, 34.8% were haploids or aneuploids, as revealed by flow cytometric measurement of DNA content.

8. The greater efficiency of using doubled haploids was due to doubling of the additive genetic variance and the elimination of dominance variance.

9. Chromosome pairing at metaphase I was investigated in the resulting haploids and hybrids and the parental addition and substitution lines.

10. The study revealed (i) homologous pairing in diploid species and very little nonhomologous associations in their mono-haploids; (ii) the alloploid nature of the polyploid taxa; (iii) a certain degree of homoeologous pairing in polyhaploids despite the diploid-like meiotic behaviour of the polyploids; (iv) genetic variation in the suppression of homoeologous chromosome pairing in different Hordeum species.