Resistance to foliar blight of wheat: A search

One thousand three hundred and eighty-seven spring wheat germplasm (Triticum aestivum L.) lines belonging to the Indian and CIMMYT wheat programmes were evaluated for their tolerance to foliar blight disease for three consecutive years i.e., from 1994 to 1997. Disease severity at six different growth stages, beginning from tillering to late milk stage, was recorded. None of the genotypes showed immunity to the disease. Of 43 lines showing resistant reaction, a major proportion (25) was represented by CIMMYT material. Comparatively, Indian germplasm lines tended to be more susceptible at more advanced growth stages. Area Under Disease Progress Curve (AUDPC) and Apparent Infection Rate (r) values of resistant lines were much lower than those of susceptible ones, but lower AUDPC in some of the resistant lines did not correspond to a lower `r' value. Most of the resistant lines were derived from Seri, Myna, Bau, kauz, Hork `s' and Aegilops tauschii Coss.