Project Number: 6070-22000-017-00-D
Project Type: In-House Appropriated

Start Date: Mar 28, 2013
End Date: Mar 6, 2018

Objective:
1. Identify and develop improved small grain germplasm with resistance to rusts, powdery mildew, Fusarium head blight, necrotrophic pathogens, and freeze tolerance. 1a: Develop wheat germplasm with resistance to stripe rust, leaf rust, stem rust, and powdery mildew. 1b: Develop wheat germplasm with resistance to Fusarium head blight (FHB). 1c: Develop wheat germplasm with resistance to Stagonospora nodorum blight (SNB). 1d: Identify oat, wheat and barley germplasm with tolerance to freezing. 2. Develop improved methods of marker-assisted selection, and apply markers in development of small grains cultivars. 2a: Identify new markers for important traits in eastern winter wheat germplasm. 2b: Evaluate important traits in eastern winter wheat using molecular markers. 2c: Develop new eastern winter wheat germplasm using marker-assisted breeding. 3. Develop new wheat germplasm and cultivars having enhanced end-use characteristics for the eastern U.S. 4. Determine the virulence structure of small grain pathogen populations and evaluate the risk potential of virulence transfer through gene flow. 4a: Determine the virulence frequencies in the wheat powdery mildew pathogen, Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici, from different regions in the U.S.

Approach:
1. Develop wheat germplasm with resistance to stripe rust, leaf rust, stem rust, and powdery mildew. Develop wheat germplasm with resistance to Fusarium head blight (FHB). Develop wheat germplasm with resistance to Stagonospora nodorum blight (SNB). Identify oat, wheat and barley germplasm with tolerance to freezing. 2. Identify new markers for important traits in eastern winter wheat germplasm. Evaluate important traits in eastern winter wheat using molecular markers. 3. Make new crosses, marker-assisted selection for key traits; phenotyping and selection for improved hard wheats lines; introduce resistance to common bunt; grow and select populations under organic and conventional conditions. 4. Obtain infected plant samples from all states; make single-pustuled isolates, and begin phenotyping and genotyping.