Aspects of wheat rust research in Australia

A National Wheat Rust Control Program, that has operated in Australia since 1975, provides national pathotype surveys for the three rust pathogens, un dertakes ongoing searches for new sources of resistance and carries out gen etic analyses of these sources, and provides rust screening and germplasm e nhancement support for breeders. The program was expanded in the 1980s to a ddress problems arising from the introduction of wheat stripe rust. A new f orm of stripe rust, described as barley grass stripe rust, was first detect ed in 1998. Although virulent on some wheat seedlings this new rust appears to be a greater threat to barley. Molecular markers are expected to make a n increasing impact on our ability to select the gene combinations needed t o enhance the durability of resistance.