Field response to leaf rust of Bangladeshi wheat

Leaf rust is one of the major diseases of wheat in Bangladesh. The farmer fields and trial sites were regularly surveyed for rust assessment from 2010-2011 to 2016-2017 wheat growing seasons. Disease severity was recorded following BGRI protocols. Percentage of fields infected with leaf rust and the levels of disease severity varied with genotype, year, planting time and survey sites. Timely planted wheat either escaped or had less disease compared to late planted crop. Among our cultivated varieties, Shatabdi was either free from infection or exhibited only trace severity with resistant reaction. Variety Saurav, Bijoy, BARI Gom 27 , BARI Gom 28 , BARI Gom-29 and BARI Gom-30 were consistently free from leaf rust infection. BARI Gom 25 and BARI Gom 26 showed low to moderate disease levels with MRMS-MSS reactions, while the variety Prodip demonstrated moderate to high disease severity with susceptible response and it needs to be replaced by resistant variety to sustain wheat productivity.