The initial material for winter barley breeding on tolerance to loose (head) smut in the dry conditions of the Rostov region

The article gives the results of three-year study and assessment of the varieties of winter barley of Russian and foreign selection (Ukraine, Germany, France, Check Republic, US) on a response to a loose smut pathogen Ustilaqo nuda (Jens.) Kell. etSw. The study has been carried out on the infected field of the laboratory of immunity and plant protection of All-Russian Research Institute of Grain Crops named after I.G. Kalinenko. As the development of pathogen is biennial, the varieties-differentiators were inoculated with a spore suspension of pathogen in a flowering phase during the first year. The infected plants were labeled and harvested in the phase of total ripeness. Next year the infected seeds were sown into the phyto pathologic plot. The counting of the infected and healthy heads was carried out in the phase of milky ripeness. According to the results of artificial inoculation we have determined various degree of infection among the studied varieties. Two varieties ‘Mikhaylo’ and ‘Gorizont’ were found highly responsive and sensible to the pathogen. Eight varieties have been characterized with high resistance to the disease.