L. R. Nelson

Breeding wheat for resistance to Septoria nodorum and Septoria tritici.

Publisher Summary There are three recognized Septoria diseases of wheat, each characterized by its causal fungus. On a worldwide basis, the two most important are septoria nodorum blotch (SNB) and septoria tritici blotch (STB). The third, septoria avenae blotch, is found infrequently and is generally considered a minor disease. This chapter focuses on breeding for resistance to SNB and STB. The relative emphasis that different breeding programs place on resistance to SNB and STB typically depends on the importance of the diseases in the geographic area of interest. The need for Septoria resistance must be viewed in relation to other breeding objectives. Thus, in some breeding programs it may be sufficient to simply avoid extremely susceptible germplasm, whereas other programs may require a high level of resistance. The chapter discusses how resistance to SNB and STB has been identified, relevant features concerning pathogen variation, what is known about the genetics of resistance, and a reference list containing sources of resistance to SNB and STB.