Plant Genetic Resources for Improvement of Rust Resistance in Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Plant genetic resources are most vital for developing high yielding rust resistant cultivars and orienting breeding strategies to cope with the threat posed by rust pathogens in wheat improvement programme. HS 424, developed from a cross [CPAN3004 x HPW(DL) 30 x HS 286], following pedigree method of breeding was resistant against prevalent pathotypes of leaf and stem rusts. It has also shown mean grain yield superiority over check varieties in All India Coordinated wheat trials during 2000–01 and 2001–02. HS 431, a selection from CIMMYT breeding material has shown seedling resistance against leaf and stem rust pathotypes prevalent in India. It carries single recessive gene pair for conferring resistance against 121R63-1 pathotype of leaf rust. WBM 1587 and WBM 1591 were found to be resistant against most virulent pathotype 46S119 of stripe rust. Diversification of germplasm with these genetic stocks of rust resistance and involving them in hybridization would prove useful in wheat improvement programme of India.