SOURCES OF RESISTANCE TO TILLETIA-INDICA IN WHEAT

Experimental wheat (Triticum aestivum) lines and cultivars from China, India, and from the Americas, were resistant to Tilletia indica, the causal agent of the Karnal bunt disease, compared with the controls. W heat was screened by artificial inoculation at the best stage on plant s from three sowing dates by injection of a suspension of 10 000 spori dia ml(-1). The experiment was repeated over 2-4 years. The mean perce ntage infection, based on the number of infected and healthy grains, r anged from 0.61 to 2.95%, from 0.19 to 2.21% and from 0.41 to 1.99% fo r Karnal bunt resistant American, Chinese and Indian wheat lines, resp ectively. The mean percentage infection of the susceptible check for t hose groups was 60.5, 63.5 and 63.5%.