EPIDEMIOLOGY OF PUCCINIA-STRIIFORMIS F SP TRITICI ON WHEAT IN SOUTHERN NEW-SOUTH-WALES

Development of stripe rust was observed on wheat cultivars that differed in reaction to the disease at the post booting stage of growth over 4 years (1984-1987) at Yanco and Wagga Wagga in southern New South Wales. In 1984, the epidemic began in August and the disease affected up to 20% of leaf area by the booting stage. The disease then ceased to develop in cultivars with moderately resistant or resistant adult plant reaction (APR) to stripe rust, but in susceptible wheats up to 82% of leaf area was affected by early milk stage of growth. The early onset in 1984 was associated with the highest rain in the previous summer-autumn (January - April) of the 4 years. In the other 3 years, the epidemics began later. Stripe rust did not develop on cultivars with resistant APR, but it affected up to 97% of leaf area of the highly susceptible cultivar Avocet by early milk. The disease was more severe on later sown than early sown Avocet. The apparent rates of infection both before and after booting ranged from 0.02 - 0.41 per day. In each experiment, the rate was less on wheats with higher levels of APR while in 1984 the rate on all cultivars decreased from the pre-booting to the post-booting stage of crop growth. After booting, the apparent rates of infection on susceptible and moderately susceptible cultivars were positively correlated with the mean temperature during the period over which the rate was calculated, for the range 12.9 - 16.2-degrees-C. Over this range, the apparent rate of infection of susceptible wheats increased at 0.095 per day per degrees-C while that of moderately susceptible wheats increased at 0.045 per day per degrees-C. From 16.2 - 20.3-degrees-C the rate of susceptible wheats was negatively correlated with the mean temperature, and declined at 0.043 per day per degrees-C. There was no significant relationship between apparent rate of infection and temperature for moderately resistant wheats after booting, or for rates before booting in 1984. Development of wheat, measured on the Zadoks scale, was linear from first appearance of the flag leaf (GS 37) to mid milk (GS 75) at both sites over the four years.