Bread wheat, Triticum aestivum L. is a major staple food for the world population. The cereal cyst nematode, Heterodera filipjevi is a soil-dwelling phytoparasitic nematode which has a wider distribution worldwide, than the other species of cereal nematodes in Iran. To search for a new source of resistance against H. filipjevi, 43 irrigated and rain-fed wheat cultivars were studied in a wheat collection, under greenhouse and field conditions. In this study, in addition to the number of females and cysts per plant, the number of eggs and second-stage juveniles (J2) were also recorded. The screening resulted in identifying the cultivars as resistant, moderately resistant, moderately susceptible, susceptible and highly susceptible cultivars to H. filipjevi. The infection rate, by the number of females and cysts per plant, was 4.27 and 4.70 respectively, in the resistant ‘Bam’ and ‘Behrang’, and 5.92, 5.94 and 6.57 in three moderately resistant cultivars ‘Bahar’, ‘Parsi’ and ‘Pishtaz’;these rates are significantly lower when compared with susceptible cultivar ‘Back Cross Roshan’, with 15.91 females and cysts per plant, respectively. The results showed that rainfed cultivars were more susceptible to cereal cyst nematodes, H. filipjevi (30% more infection) when compared to the irrigated wheat cultivars. Also, the regression analysis revealed no correlation between the total cyst numbers and number of eggs and J2 in all wheat cultivars, indicating that in addition to female and cyst numbers, the number of eggs and J2 should also be included for resistant screening. In this study, two wheat cultivars were identified as resistant, which could be used by candidates in cereal nematode crop management programmes

Wheat CRP FP2 - Novel diversity and tools adapt to climate change and resource constraints FP3 - Global partnership to accelerate genetic gain in farmers field

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