Development of a molecular marker for simultaneous selection of Rph7 gene and effective Mla alleles in barley

Barley ( Hordeum vulgare L.) is one of the most economically important crops around the world. Diseases caused by fungi and viruses significantly reduce yield. The most important fungal diseases are leaf rust caused by Puccinia hordei , and powdery mildew caused by Blumeria graminis f. sp. hordei . The most economical and ecologically friendly way to avoid losses caused by these diseases is growing resistant varieties. Concerning practical breeding for powdery mildew and leaf rust resistance, simple, cheap and robust selection methods are required. Marker assisted selection (MAS) is of great potential to fulfil this demand. In this paper, we present development of a robust duplex marker for simultaneous selection of Rph7 , and presence of one of the following Mla alleles: Mla16, Mla19, Mla20, Mla21, Mla27 or Mla28

Response of spring barley cultivars to Ramularia leaf spot in conditions of the Czech Republic

The fungus Ramularia collo-cygni is increasingly important as the causal agent of Ramularia leaf spot (RLS). The work aimed to identify gene resources suitable for developing new breeding lines of spring barley with improved resistance. We tested 144 spring barley cultivars at 3 locations in the Czech Republic over 3 years (2009–2011). Only minor and statistically insignificant differences were observed between the individual cultivars in reaction to RLS. No cultivars were observed to have resistance to Ramularia collo-cygni, but significant influence of location and year on the intensity of RLS infection in barley was observed