Resistance to Leaf Rust, Stripe Rust, and Stem Rust in Aegilops spp. in Israel

In all, 1,323 single plant accessions of Aegilops bicornis, A. kotschyi, A. longissima, A. ovata, A. searsii, A. sharonensis, A. speltoides, and A. variabilis collected from 18 regions in Israel and 2 adjacent regions in Lebanon and Egypt were evaluated for leaf rust (Puccinia triticina) and stripe rust (P. striiformis) resistance in field plots and for seedling resistance to leaf rust and stem rust (P. graminis f. sp. tritici) in greenhouse tests. Nearly all accessions of A. speltoides were highly resistant to leaf rust, stripe rust, and stem rust. A. longissima and A. ovata were highly resistant to stripe rust, whereas A. bicornis and A. kotschyi were highly susceptible. A. searsii was highly susceptible to stem rust, but 24 to 51% of accessions of A. bicornis, A. longissima, A. ovata, and A. variabilis were resistant to stem rust. Except for A. ovata and A. speltoides, more than 95% of the Aegilops accessions were susceptible to leaf rust caused by P. recondita alternating on Anchusa spp. Only Aegilops ovata was susceptible to P. recondita from Echium spp. A. bicornis, A. koschyi, and A. searsii were highly susceptible as seedlings to common wheat leaf rust caused by P. triticina. Most accessions of A. variabilis and about half of the accessions of A. longissima had good seedling resistance to P. triticina. Few accessions of A. ovata showed seedling resistance to the P. triticina population in Israel, but 30% were resistant to U.S. isolates. In field tests, A. bicornis showed high susceptibility to common wheat leaf rust, but more than 90% of the accessions of the other Aegilops spp. developed little or no leaf rust on adult plants. The Aegilops spp. in Israel and adjoining countries provide a rich and varied source of rust resistance for wheat breeding.