Evaluation of Resistance to Leaf Rust (Puccinia tritic Eriks.) at Seedling Stage in Wheat Genotypes

Leaf rust caused by Puccinia triticina Eriks. is the most widespread and regularly occurring rust on wheat. Genetic resistance is the most economical approach of preventing yield losses due to leaf rust. To evaluate the resistance of 320 wheat genotypes at seedling stage to four leaf rust isolates, an experiment was carried out using randomized complete block design with two replications in the greenhouse conditions of the cereal pathology unit of Seed and Plant Improvement Institute in Karaj, Iran. To evaluate the resistance, two components of infection type and latent period, were used. Analysis of variance showed that there was highly significant differences between the genotypes for each of the two components. Dehdasht, Dena, Karaj-2, Khazar-1, Sepahan and Parsi and seven landraces were resistant to all isolates at seedling stage. The correlation between infection type and the latent period was negative and significant. Cluster analysis classified the genotypes into three clusters: susceptible, moderately susceptible to moderately resistant, and resistant to immune. More than 78 percent of the genotypes were in susceptible cluster. Identified resistant genotypes, especially landraces, can be used as sources of resistance to leaf rust in wheat breeding programs.