Influence of development stage and host genotype on three components of partial resistance to leaf rust in spring wheat

Summary Latency period (LP), infection frequency (IF) and urediosorus size (US) of leaf rust were determined on primary leaves and young flag leaves of 18 spring wheat cultivars. A large growth stage effect and a large cultivar effect on all three components were observed. Partial resistance as measured by the three components was generally better expressed in the adult plant stage than in the seedling stage. Associated variation of the components was observed: long LP, low IF and small US tended to go together. The association was not complete, cultivars with clear deviations of this association for one of the components were found suggesting the existence of at least partly different genetic factors controlling the respective components. LP measured on flag leaves gave the most reliable results and, therefore, could best be used as a selection criterion in breeding programs for partial resistance.