Wheat stripe rust (yellow rust [Yr]), caused by Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici, is an economically important disease of wheat worldwide. Virulence information on P. striiformis f. sp. tritici populations is important to implement effective disease control with resistant cultivars. In total, 235 P. striiformis f. sp. tritici isolates from Algeria, Australia, Canada, Chile, China, Hungary, Kenya, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Spain, Turkey, and Uzbekistan were tested on 20 single Yr-gene lines and the 20 wheat genotypes that are used to differentiate P. striiformis f. sp. tritici races in the United States. The 235 isolates were identified as 129 virulence patterns on the single-gene lines and 169 virulence patterns on the U.S. differentials. Virulences to YrA, Yr2, Yr6, Yr7, Yr8, Yr9, Yr17, Yr25, YrUkn, Yr28, Yr31, YrExp2, Lemhi (Yr21), Paha (YrPa1, YrPa2, YrPa3), Druchamp (Yr3a, YrD, YrDru), Produra (YrPr1, YrPr2), Stephens (Yr3a, YrS, YrSte), Lee (Yr7, Yr22, Yr23), Fielder (Yr6, Yr20), Tyee (YrTye), Tres (YrTr1, YrTr2), Express (YrExp1, YrExp2), Clement (Yr9, YrCle), and Compair (Yr8, Yr19) were detected in all countries. At least 80% of the isolates were virulent on YrA, Yr2, Yr6, Yr7, Yr8, Yr17, YrUkn, Yr31, YrExp2, Yr21, Stephens (Yr3a, YrS, YrSte), Lee (Yr7, Yr22, Yr23), and Fielder (Yr6, Yr20). Virulences to Yr1, Yr9, Yr25, Yr27, Yr28, Heines VII (Yr2, YrHVII), Paha (YrPa1, YrPa2, YrPa3), Druchamp (Yr3a, YrD, YrDru), Produra (YrPr1, YrPr2), Yamhill (Yr2, Yr4a, YrYam), Tyee (YrTye), Tres (YrTr1, YrTr2), Hyak (Yr17, YrTye), Express (YrExp1, YrExp2), Clement (Yr9, YrCle), and Compair (Yr8, Yr19) were moderately frequent (>20 to <80%). Virulence to Yr10, Yr24, Yr32, YrSP, and Moro (Yr10, YrMor) was low (≤20%). Virulence to Moro was absent in Algeria, Australia, Canada, Kenya, Russia, Spain, Turkey, and China, but 5% of the Chinese isolates were virulent to Yr10. None of the isolates from Algeria, Canada, China, Kenya, Russia, and Spain was virulent to Yr24; none of the isolates from Algeria, Australia, Canada, Nepal, Russia, and Spain was virulent to Yr32; none of the isolates from Australia, Canada, Chile, Hungary, Kenya, Kenya, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, and Spain was virulent to YrSP; and none of the isolates from any country was virulent to Yr5 and Yr15. Although the frequencies of virulence factors were different, most of the P. striiformis f. sp. tritici isolates from these countries shared common virulence factors. The virulences and their frequencies and distributions should be useful in breeding stripe-rust-resistant wheat cultivars and understanding the pathogen migration and evolution.

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is the major crop in terms of planted area and presents the largest distribution in the country covering a wide range of climatic regions. This study assesses the changes of various agronomic traits of winter wheat cultivars released in Chile between 1920 and 2000. A total of 117 winter accessions, representing 45 old and 72 modern cultivars were tested in a humid Mediterranean-type climate, with irrigation, in 2003. Old cultivars were those released before 1960 and modern ones were those released after 1960. Principal component (PC) analysis using 10 agronomic traits clearly separate modern from old cultivars of winter wheat. Comparing modern cultivars with old ones, plant height have been reduced by 25.6%, but others traits have increased, like harvest index (21.1%), number of grains per ear (42.6%), sedimentation value (103%), and grain hardness (32.0%). The variation in plant height was negatively correlated with harvest index (r = -0.30, p < 0.001). Grain yield, a trait not included in PC analysis, was highly correlated with the second PC (r = 0.81, p < 0.0001). Significant (p < 0.01) correlations were found between the year of release of cultivars and agronomic traits: plant height (r = -0.82), harvest index (r = 0.40), number of grain per ear (r = 0.69), sedimentation value (r = 0.64), and kernel weight (r = -0.46). Those correlations were mostly a consequence of absence or presence of dwarfing genes in the germplasm. Finally, the yield progress was calculated from yield data of yield trial with 15-25 cultivars and advanced lines of winter wheat tested almost every year from 1965 to 2001, showed no increase in yield between 1965 and 1975, but an increment of 246 kg ha -1 per year between 1976 and 1998, representing an annual increase of 2.6%.

No abstract

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) genetic improvement objectives include obtaining cultivars capable of expressing their maximum potential yield and quality in diverse environments. This make necessary to know and define the environment in which a variety can express its maximum potential yield and quality. The objective of this study was to assess which method is the most efficient to study cultivars response in multiple environments. For this, we analyze the adaptability, stability, and genotype × environment (G×E) interaction effect, grain yield, sedimentation, and wet gluten content of 13 spring wheat cultivars sown in six environments in the central-south and southern zones of Chile during two seasons. The data were analyzed by regression analysis, additive main effects and multiplicative interaction (AMMI), and the sites regression (SREG) model. By this was thus established that SREG analysis is the most efficient for this type of study since, in addition to analyzing stability, adaptability, and effect (G×E), it allows identifying the best cultivar. In this case, 'Pandora-INIA' stands out by exhibiting the best yield (7.38 t ha -1 ), high sedimentation (36.95 cm 3 ), and wet gluten (41.54%) indices in all the environments, and this positions it as a variety having both high yield and quality.

No abstract