Major biotic constraints in wheat production are wheat rusts caused by Puccinia species. Among the three rusts i.e. (stem rust = Puccinia graminis f. sp tritici, leaf rust = P. recondita f. sp. tritici and stripe rust = P. striiformis f. sp tritici); stripe rust is the major problem in north hills of India. Sixty six diverse genotypes were studied for (APR) adult plant resistance including 5 resistant mutants of HD 2967 (TYRM1, TYRM2, TYRM3, TYRM4, TYRM5) from Bhaba Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai and were evaluated under field and controlled conditions. HPW 373, Unnat PBW 550, TYRM2, TYRM4 and HS 507 were found to be highly resistant to yellow rust at both seedling and adult plant stages. While, genotypes HPW 360, HPW 314, HS 490 and TRYM1 showing very low AUDPC values were found to be moderately resistant under field conditions. These lines have been suggested for use in breeding programs, and some are currently undergoing network trials for their direct release. TYRM 2 mutant showed near immune response in Multi-location trails. So, inheritance studies were carried out in TYRM 2 to decipher the genetics of seedling rust resistance. The F2s were evaluated for seedling resistance against yellow rust (46S119, 78S84) races. Resistance in TYRM 2 is controlled by single dominant gene against stripe rust (78S84) while against stripe rust (46S119); resistance of TYRM 2 is controlled by recessive gene. These findings are expected to contribute towards wheat improvement programs that aim to enhance resistance to stripe rust.
