Relation Between Resistance to Leaf Rust and Fusarium Crown Rot Diseases in Some Egyptian Wheat Cultivars

Abstract

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L) is the most important cereal crop worldwide. It is responsible for providing more than 40% of humans with their nutritional requirements from carbohydrates and other essential nutrients. Unfortunately, its attacked by different various air and soil borne pathogens which resulted in massive losses in both yield quantity and quality. In Egypt, wheat is not only just a nutritional cereal crop, but it is considered the food security key. There is a huge gap between the wheat grain production and national consumption levels. Therefore, saving each grain from wheat production deemed urgent need. Using resistant cultivars against important invaded pathogens is considering one of the most effective and relevant techniques that can be used in the battle between plant pathologists and hazardous pathogen i.e. Puccinia triticina and Fusarium pseudograminiarum. In the current study, the resistance potential of 29 different Egyptian wheat cultivars was assessed against 3 leaf rust races and crown rot disease individually. The results showed that the tolerance potential of the tested cultivars toward either P. triticina or F. pseudograminiarum was varied significantly. Also, the relation between the incidences of the two diseases was estimated. Results indicating that there are a positive correlation between incidence of leaf rust and incidence of crown rot diseases. These findings could lead to designing special models which can be used in the prediction of the incidence by one of the two pathogens when the other attacks the wheat plants.