Triticale biotic stresses--an overview

Triticale has been considered as resistant to diseases over a long time. Although, many authors perpetuate this opinion, it is no longer true. However, in comparison to wheat and rye triticale still may look as a healthy crop, but its healthiness has been steadily declining. It could be explained by steady expansion of the growing area and longer exposure to pathogens. On the other hand, triticale is a crop on which meet pathogens of wheat and rye, but there is evidence that on triticale embedded more so called "wheat pathogens", than rye ones. For such an notable example may serve races of Puccinia recondita. In the latter respect triticale also appears to be a bridge facilitating a direct contact between the pathogens, e.g. between physiological forms of the most important cereal rusts. Such contacts stimulate somatic hybridization on bridging triticale plant and may finally result in new hybrid pathotypes carrying virulence genes (factors) to all three hosts, i.e. triticale, wheat and rye. In addition to all triticale commercial and agronomical values, triticale still is and it will continue to be bridging transfers of resistance genes to various pathogens and pests mainly from rye to wheat. The paper will describe main diseases affecting triticale worldwide. The first disease which occurred on this cereal in epidemic proportions was stem rust (Pucinia graminis f. sp. tritici) in Australia. Leaf and stripe rusts (P. recondita f. sp. tritici and P. striiformis) are also have gained in importance everywhere triticale is grown. In recent years, at least in Poland, powdery mildew caused by Blumeria graminis occurred in epidemic proportions in quite a number of winter triticale cultivars. Similar phenomenon has been observed with quite a number of other diseases caused by facultative pathogens, such as the most damaging to triticale the Stagonospora spp. leaf and glume blotch disease complex and other pathogens like Cochliobolus sativus, Fusarium culmorum, and F. graminearum, Microdochium nivale, Bipolaris sorokiniana, Pseudocercosporella herpotrichoides, and Gaeumannomyces gramminis var. tritici inciting head, leaf and seedling blights and foot, crown and root rots. Diseases caused by bacteria, viruses, virus-like organisms and nematodes are also duly treated in this overview.