Pre-breeding for resistance to Russian Wheat Aphid, Diuraphis noxia, in wheat and barley in Australia: germplasm characterization against multiple biotypes

MEHMET CAKIR1, JANINE VITOU2, SCOTT HALEY3, OWAIN EDWARDS4, FRANK PEAIRS3, DOLORES MORNHINWEG5, JACOB LAGE6, HAYDN KUCHEL7, BERTUS JACOBS8, IAIN BARCLAY, ANA MARIA CASTRO, JOYCE MALINGA

South Africa

Congreso; Xl International Congress of Entomology; 2008

International Congress of Entomology

Mehmet Cakir1, Janine Vitou2, Scott Haley3, Owain Edwards4, Frank Peairs3, Dolores Mornhinweg5, Jacob Lage6, Haydn Kuchel7, Bertus Jacobs8, Iain Barclay9, Ana Maria Castro10, Joyce Malinga11 1Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA, Australia, 2CSIRO European Laboratory, Montpellier, France, 3Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, United States, 4CSIRO Entomology-Perth, Floreat Park, WA, Australia, 5USDA, ARS, Western Stillwater, OK, United States, 6CIMMYT, Mexico, 7Australian Grain Technologies, Roseworthy, SA, Australia, 8LongReach, Marleston, SA, Australia, 9Department of Agriculture and Food WA, South Perth, WA, Australia, 10University of La Plata, 1900-La Plata, Argentina, 11KARI-Njoro, NJORO Russian Wheat Aphid (RWA), Diuraphis noxia, has been reported to be one of the most damaging pests for wheat and barley. This aphid is not yet present in Australia though the risk of introduction in the future is high. Since the use of resistant varieties, as opposed to using insecticides, has been found to be most economical method of managing this pest, the Australian Cereal Industry has decided to invest in a pre-breeding project that is highly collaborative with other RWA workers around the world. The objectives of the project are to: 1) characterize available RWA resistant germplasm accessions against available RWA biotypes in France, USA and elsewhere 2) identify closely linked molecular markers to resistance genes and validate them in Australian wheat and barley backgrounds, and 3) introgress RWA resistance into Australian wheat and barley backgrounds. To date, a number of wheat lines that are known to be resistant to USA RWA biotypes 1 and 2 were tested in Montpellier, France, against four RWA biotypes collected from Mexico, Hungary, South Africa, and France. The aphid infestation was conducted at the seedling stage with infestation six days after planting. Leaf chlorosis and biomass was measured at 21 days after planting. Four lines tested thus far have shown good resistance to biotypes from France, Mexico and South Africa. Results from the testing of these lines with RWA biotypes from Kenya, Argentina, and a second biotype from South Africa, and the screening of 99 barley lines from Oklahoma-USA will also be discussed.