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Plant sciences, sustainable farming systems and food quality
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Resistance to the root-lesion nematode Pratylenchus thornei in wheat landraces and cultivars from the West Asia and North Africa (WANA) region

J. P. Thompson A B , M. M. O’Reilly A and T. G. Clewett A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Queensland Primary Industries and Fisheries, Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, Leslie Research Centre, PO Box 2282, Toowoomba, Qld 4350, Australia.

B Corresponding author. Email: john.thompson@dpi.qld.gov.au

Crop and Pasture Science 60(12) 1209-1217 https://doi.org/10.1071/CP09159
Submitted: 2 June 2009  Accepted: 25 August 2009   Published: 23 November 2009

Abstract

Resistance to the root-lesion nematode Pratylenchus thornei was sought in wheat from the West Asia and North Africa (WANA) region in the Watkins Collection (148 bread and 139 durum wheat accessions) and the McIntosh Collection (59 bread and 43 durum wheat accessions). It was considered that landraces from this region, encompassing the centres of origin of wheat and where P. thornei also occurs, could be valuable sources of resistance for use in wheat breeding. Resistance was determined by number of P. thornei/kg soil after the growth of the plants in replicated glasshouse experiments. On average, durum accessions produced significantly lower numbers of P. thornei than bread wheat accessions in both the Watkins and McIntosh Collections. Selected accessions with low P. thornei numbers were re-tested and 13 bread wheat and 10 durum accessions were identified with nematode numbers not significantly different from GS50a, a partially resistant bread wheat line used as a reference standard. These resistant accessions, which originated in Iran, Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Sudan, Morocco, and Tunisia, represent a resource of resistance genes in the primary wheat gene pool, which could be used in Australian wheat breeding programs to reduce the economic loss from P. thornei.

Additional keywords: Triticum aestivum, Triticum turgidum spp. durum, Pratylenchus neglectus, CCN, Heterodera avenae, Cre genes.


Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the Grains Research and Development Corporation. We thank M. I. Haak, formerly of DPI&F Leslie Research Centre, for technical assistance. We also thank M. C. Mackay (former curator) and G. R. Grimes of the Australian Winter Cereals Collection, Tamworth, for provision of the seed and information on the Watkins Collection, R. A. McIntosh, University of Sydney, for provision of seed, and H. S. Bariana and U. K. Bansal for further information on its provenance. M. Farsi and the late F. Green provided seed of wheat accessions resistant to P. neglectus and CCN, respectively.


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