Multiple disease resistance in bread wheat genotypes

Thirty two loose smut resistant bread wheat genotypes maintained at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana for more than 20 years were evaluated for resistance to three important diseases viz. Karnal bunt (KB), yellow rust (YR), brown rust (BR) and nematodes including cereal cyst nematode (CCN), root knot nematode (RKN) and ear cockle nematode (ECN) using standard methods. Three lines namely W 3339, W 9500 and BW 8627 have shown resistance to all the diseases and Cereal cyst nematode. Being resistant to all the major diseases of wheat, these three genotypes can serve as donor of multiple disease resistance genes in the cultivated varieties to broaden the existing resistance gene pool.