Evolution of resistance to scald, powdery mildew, and net blotch in barley composite cross II populations.

Progenies of barley plants taken at random from generations F8, F13, F23, and F45 of Composite Cross II were tested for reaction to three barley pathogens, Helminthosporium teres, Erysiphe graminis, and Rhynchosporium secalis (four races). The frequency of families resistant to each of the three pathogens (excepting one race of R. secalis) increased from early to later generations. Many families carrying combinations of multiple resistance not observed among the parents were found in the later generations; one-half of the parents were susceptible to all three diseases but only 4% of the families in generation F45 were of this phenotype. The frequency of multiply resistant families also increased sharply over generations. Among the parents the greatest concentration of resistant reactions observed was triple resistance: 14% were triply resistant; none were quadruply resistant; nor were any resistant to all three pathogens. In generation F43 36% of the families were triply resistant, 32% were quadruply resistant and 6% were resistant in five of the six disease reactions. The value of later generations of Composite Cross II for breeding against pathogens thus appears to have been increased by recombination and natural selection. Significant positive correlations were found for resistance to races 40, 61, and 74 of R. secalis whereas correlations between resistance to R. secalis, E. graminis, and H. teres were generally nonsignificant. Use of these multiply resistant genotypes in breeding is thus unlikely to be hindered by negative associations between resistance to the three diseases.