AEGILOPS AS A SOURCE OF TRAITS FOR RESISTANCE AGAINST MAJOR FOLIAR PATHOGENS FOR THE BREEDING OF WINTER SOFT WHEAT

Abstract

The article presents the results of research on the resistance to foliar diseases of individual species of the genus Aegilops and amphidiploids, whose parental forms are the genera Aegilops and Triticum. A comparison of plants from the genus Aegilops and Triticum aestivum species for resistance to powdery mildew, leaf septoria, and brown rust pathogens was conducted. The study was carried out during the 2021/2022–2022/2023 growing seasons at the collection nursery of the Institute of Agriculture of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine. The assessment of resistance was conducted using commonly accepted methodologies, with calculations of the significance coefficient of deviation of resistance indicators. As a result, it was found that some species and amphidiploids exhibited higher resistance compared to T. aestivum, indicating the potential of the genus Aegilops in enhancing the genetic diversity and resistance of soft wheat to powdery mildew, septoria leaf spon, and brown rust. Certain species and amphidiploids were identified as promising sources of resistance to the pathogens of the studied diseases, which could contribute to their utilization in breeding programs aimed at improving yield and reducing losses from foliar disease infections. The conclusions of the study open up new possibilities for breeding programs in agriculture and promote further research in this direction.