Evaluation of resistance of current wheat cultivars and breeding lines to stripe rust from three Gorges reservoir area

Abstract

Nearly 100,000 ha in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area (TGRA) are in wheat production and the area is a junction where wheat stripe rust overwinters and causes epidemics the next spring; thus the area plays a pivotal role in wheat stripe rust epidemics in China. To better understand wheat resistance levels and the application of Yr genes in this area, 116 wheat cultivars (lines) were collected from the TGRA to investigate stripe rust resistance during the 2014–2016 cropping seasons. Seedling resistance evaluation results indicated that only nine accessions (7.8%) were immune or nearly immune to three predominant races of CYR32, CYR33 and PST-V26. In the field evaluation, 51 accessions (43.9%) showed adult-plant resistance, whereas 56 accessions (48.3%) were susceptible. The application of resistant sources focused on ineffective Yr9 (26.7%) and Yr17 (18.9%), and gradual ineffective Yr26 (34.5%), while effective Yr5, Yr10 and Yr15 were absent. Among them, 21 accessions (18.1%) were combined with two resistance genes. Both low resistance and more concentrated use of Yr genes indicated that this region faces a major risk for a wheat stripe rust epidemic. To improve the wheat resistance level in the TGRA, it is important to discover new all-stage resistance resources and diversify resistance resources for breeding.