United Kingdom
August 11, 2021
Source
Wheat varieties with resistance to barley yellow dwarf virus are continuing to deliver outstanding control of the disease even under extreme pressure, according to the latest results from RAGT trials.
The resilience of the BDV2 resistance trait in RGT Wolverine and a raft of new wheats in RAGTs’ pipeline has been confirmed in pre-harvest visual and viral loading assessments.
The fully replicated trials, which tested RAGT Seeds’ BDV2 material and a range of widely grown commercial varieties, provided a tough test.
Plots were sown in early September and inoculated with virus-laden aphids, four times in the autumn and four times in the spring, They were scored weekly for disease symptoms from mid-April.
The BDV2 material showed no symptoms, apart from a few isolated traces of yellowing. All the commercial winter wheats exhibited severe symptoms, including multiple infection sites, multiple red leaves and stunted growth – up to 50% in the worst cases.
ELISA testing backed up the visual scores. Although some yellowing can develop in BDV2 material under unusually severe pressure, no viral loading was found on RGT Wolverine, suggesting some other cause.
However, a high loading was seen in the two commercial varieties tested. All plots will be taken to yield.
The observations reinforce last year’s results and reaffirm RAGT’s advice that anyone sowing wheat early this autumn in a BYDV-prone area should grow RGT Wolverine to eliminate risk.
In addition, RGT Wolverine is one of the highest yielding varieties on the Recommended List, so it will deliver excellent returns even in the absence of BYDV or if drilling is delayed.
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