Evaluation of elite wheat germ plasm for resistance to tan spot

Tan spot, caused by Pyrenophora tritici-repentis, is a serious foliar disease of wheat (Triticum aestivum) in North America. Control of tan spot through management practices and fungicide application is possible; however, the use of resistant varieties is the most effective and economical means of controlling tan spot. This study was conducted to determine the disease reaction of 126 elite hard red spring, white, and durum wheat varieties and advanced breeding lines collected from the northern Great Plains of the United States and Canada to individual races/toxins of P. tritici-repentis. Seedling evaluation of the 126 genotypes was done under controlled environmental conditions with virulent races 2, 3, and 5 of P. tritici-repentis and toxins Ptr ToxA and Ptr ToxB. Based on disease reactions, two resistant varieties and two advanced breeding lines adapted to the northern Great Plains were found to be resistant to all the races and insensitive to the toxins tested. Additionally, six genetically diverse lines/varieties were identified to be resistant to tan spot; however, these sources may not be well adapted to the northern Great Plains. These results suggest that the wheat germ plasm contains a broad genetic base for resistance to the most prevalent races of P. tritici-repentis in North America, and the resistant sources identified in this study may be utilized in wheat breeding programs to develop tan spot resistant varieties.