Abstract only

In the recent years, common bunt (CB) has become one of the most harmful and widely spread fungus diseases in the republic. CB causes signi- ficant losses to wheat crop in the foothill and mo- untain areas, as well as in the zone of irrigated ag- riculture. Harmfulness of CB is expressed not only in damaging grain transforming it to the mass of spores, but also in lowering winter hardiness ofthe infected plant, retarding their stem growth and reducing the number of grains per spike (Yakovleva, 1983). If manifestation of CB reaches 0.23%, the hidden yield losses reach up to 2.8%, exceeding the evident losses 12.2 times (Gorlenko, 1968). Races 3,7 ,9, 11, 15 and 16 of Tilletia levis and races 1. 2. and 16 of T caries are found to be widely spread on the territory of Azerbaijan. Among the identified six races of T levis, race 9 is the most virulent being encountered in 80-90% of the major wheat-growing areas of the republic. As for T caries, it has been found only in Zakataly region, where race 16 prevails (Zeynalov, 1988). Our research objective was to screen winter wheat germplasm for reaction to CB under the conditions of artificial inoculation and select sources of resistance to this pathogen. Germplasm from CIMMYT/ICARDA nurseries and collections of Rl of Agriculture of Azerbaijan were used as the study material. Inoculation of the seeds was caried out using Rorghardt's (1927) techniaue- which imnlied application of pathogen spores to wheat seeds at the rate of 1g/1OOg several days before planting. Released wheat varieties Giymatli 2/17 and Azeri were used as checks. The degree of the disease severity was estimated through the numbers of the healthy and infected spikes per plant. During the first years, germplasm from ICARDA/CIMMYT nurseries were planted at the Absheron Expe- rimental Station, exposed to the artificial inoculation with CB and surrounded by spreader rows to establish favorable environment for development of yellow rust. The obtained data suggests that out of the 403 introduced and 70 local entries, 53, 197, 185, and 38 entries were found immune (0% of the diseased spikes ), resistant (less than 10% of the diseased spikes ), moderately resistant ( 10%-40% ), and susceptible (more than 40%) to CB, respectively (Table ). The best durum wheat entries distinguished by high resistance to fungal diseases and high yield are found the following: DYR-99 # 34, DLR-99 # 5 & 6, DSR-99 # 27, DSTGP-99 # 4 and DLR-98 # 9. The most resistant and high yielding bread wheat lines are WKLDN-OO N~ 141, WLE-OO N~ 48, WER - 00 N~ 71, KLDN-OO N~ 3, 6th EYTIRR # 9928, 11thFAWWON # 5, #41, #53, #100 and #263, 9thSAWYT#14, #15, #17, #30, #58, etc. At the same time, the majority of the entries have been found resistant to yellow and brown rusts, as well as to powdery mildew. Al1 selected entries distinguished by high disease resistance and desired agronomic traits were included in the multi-locations trials and planted in the different regions of the republic. They were selected for grain yield, recommended for on-farm testing and involving in crosses for further utilization in the breeding pro- gram.

English

0409|AGRIS 0401|AL-Wheat Program

Juan Carlos Mendieta

CIMMYT Publications Collection