Evaluation of Breeding Material Carrying Foreign Translocations, Resistant to the Pathogen of Wheat Leaf Rust, Adapted to the Conditions of Western Siberia

Abstract

The primary focus of spring soft wheat breeding is the development of stress-resistant varieties. The objective of this study was to develop and comprehensively evaluate spring soft wheat breeding material carrying foreign genes for resistance to wheat leaf rust to determine their potential for use in breeding for productivity in the environmental conditions of Western Siberia. The study included spring soft wheat recombinants carrying combinations of translocations from Thinopyrum elongatum (Lr19 + Sr25, Lr24 + Sr24, Lr29), Secale cereale (Lr45), and Aegilops speltoides (Lr47). The structure of the wheat leaf rust population was studied using isolates collected in Western Siberia in 2020-2022. The presence of two translocations in a single genotype resulted in a greater decrease in the expression of the main quantitative traits (except for the duration of the period from germination to heading) relative to recombinants without translocations. An overall low expression of traits was revealed in recombinants obtained from the Sibirskaya 17 variety and a wide variation in recombinants based on the Novosibirskaya 31 cultivars, compared with the recipients. Four lines with a combination of translocations carrying the Lr19 + Lr45 and Lr45 + Lr47 genes were identified, exceeding the recipients in ear grain weight. The virulence frequency of clones infecting differentiators carrying the Lr9, Lr19, and Lr24 genes varied by year: in 2020 (28%, 0% and 0%), increase in 2021 (70%, 23% and 35%), decrease in 2022 (0%, 8% and 6%).