RESISTANCE TO STRIPE RUST AND EYESPOT DISEASES OF WHEAT IN TRITICUM-TAUSCHII

A collection of 279 Triticum tauschii (syn. Aegilops squarrosa) access ions was evaluated for resistance to stripe rust (Puccinia striiformis ) and eyespot (Pseudocercosporella herpotrichoides) diseases. Seedling s were inoculated with four different races of P. striiformis that rep resent all known virulences in the Pacific Northwest, and a geneticall y modified strain of P. herpotrichoides expressing beta-glucuronidase. Seventeen percent (44) of the T. tauschii accessions were resistant t o all Pacific Northwest races of stripe rust, and 45% (115) were resis tant to eyespot. Thirty-nine of the 279 accessions were resistant to t he stripe rust races and the eyespot pathogen. Accessions resistant to stripe rust were mainly from the Caspian Sea region of Iran and Azerb aijan, with the majority belonging to T. rauschii subsp. strangulata a nd T. t. subsp. meyeri. There was no clear association between resista nce to eyespot and geographical origin or taxonomic subgroup.