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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Madison, Wisconsin » Cereal Crops Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #102881
Title: PERFORMANCE OF BARLEY CULTIVARS EXPRESSING VARIATION IN SUSCEPTIBILITY TO RUSSIAN WHEAT APHID INFESTATION

Author
item DOLAN, D - COORS BREWING COMPANY
item Jones, Berne
item PEAIRS, F - COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY

Submitted to: Barley Newsletter
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/10/1999
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Several barley breeding programs are developing cultivars with resistance to the Russian Wheat Aphid (RWA, Diuraphis noxia (Mordvilko)). Very little field data exists on the impact of RWA infestation on cultivars expressing resistance. This study examines the impact of RWA feeding on barley cultivars varying in their degree of resistance to RWA. Five cultivars were studied; a susceptible control, a resistant parent, a resistant backcross-one progeny, a moderately resistant parent, and a moderately resistant backcross-one progeny. Early manual infestation of RWA occurred during the two leaf (Zadoks 12) stage and the late infestation during stem elongation (Zadoks 30-34). With early infestation, the grain yield of the susceptible control decreased 82%, that of the resistant backcross line decreased 11%, and the intermediate backcross line yield decreased 53%. Malting quality was significantly decreased in the susceptible cultivar, even with later infestations that had minimal impact on agronomic performance. Barley protein and malt beta-glucan levels were affected most strongly. The malting quality of the lines that expressed high resistance to RWA were only minimally affected. However, cultivars having only intermediate levels of resistance may still be susceptible to serious injury, especially when the infestations occur early.