Abstract
Selection for high contents of the industrially valuable alkaloid thebaine has been performed in Papaver somniferum. The breeding lines studied are probably the result of a spontaneous mutant, which has been cross pollinated by wind or insects, as segregations have been observed in the subsequent generations. Low frequencies of thebaine plants were found in the I1 and I2 generations. In the I3 generation one line resulted in the production of 92% plants with high thebaine content. Offsprings from this line produced only 17.5% thebaine plants when cultivated in green house conditions during winter. The thebaine content in the dry capsules averages 0.65% as compared to 0.37% morphine in normal alkaloid plants when cultivated under identical conditions.
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