Influence of post-infection temperature on three components of partial resistance in wheat to wheat leaf rust

Summary Three components of partial resistance (PR) were studied at three post-infection temperatures using seven spring wheat genotypes differing in level of PR and two different wheat leaf rust races. The components were latency period (LP), infection frequency (IF) and urediosorus size (US). The expression of LP was more sensitive to temperature than the expression of the other two components. LP-prolonging genes were better expressed at low temperatures than at high temperatures and cultivar differences tended to increase with decreasing temperature in both seedling and adult plant stages. The reaction of IF to temperature differed from that of LP and US, probably because IF is regulated by another mechanism than LP and US.It is recommended to perform PR-screening tests at low rather than at high temperatures. If temperatures are maintained at about 8–13°C (night-day), seedlings can be used to screen for PR instead of the more expensive adult plant tests.The effectiveness of PR in seedling stage at low temperatures suggests that the seedling stage may have epidemiological significance as the low temperatures (8–13°C) are relevant for seedlings in the field.