Accumulating polygenes for partial resistance in barley to barley leaf rust,Puccinia hordei. II. Field evaluation

Summary Eight lines from the cross between Vada and Cebada Capa with long to very long latent periods and four barley cultivars representing the known range of partial resistance to barley leaf rust, caused by Puccinia hordei, were evaluated in the field for partial resistance and in the greenhouse for the latent period (LP) in the young flag leaf.Each of the 12 entries was sown (15-4-1983) on a plot of 1.0 m². There were four replicates. To reduce interplot interference the plots were separated from each other by 4.0 m of spring rye. The number of urediosori per tiller was evaluated at 27-6, 4-7, 12-7 and ten days after heading. The LP was measured on 10 to 15 plants per entry in 1982 and on 10 plants in 1983.The levels of partial resistance varied greatly. The difference in number of sori per tiller between the most susceptible cultivar, Akka, and the most resistant cultivar, Vada, was about 50 times. Between Akka and the most resistant line this was approximately 5000 times. The LP's varied similarly. Vada had a LP 64% longer than that of Akka, the LP of line 26-6-11 was 15% longer. The range of partial resistance has been extended more than twofold.The correlation coefficients between LP and the level of barley leaf rust, expressed in transformed scale units, varied from -0.99 for the first sampling date to -0.97 for the third sampling date. Sampling the same development stage, ten days after heading, did not improve the r-value (r=–0.98). The LP evaluated in the young flag leaf is shown to be a very reliable criterion for partial resistance in the barley-Puccinia hordei pathosystem.Earliness tends to be associated with susceptibility. The correlation of days to heading with LP was 0.63, and with the level of barley leaf rust in the field 0.64.