Cultivar Mixtures for the Simultaneous Management of Multiple Diseases: Tan Spot and Leaf Rust of Wheat
Publication: Phytopathology, 2004, 94:961-969.
Because of differences in life histories between Puccinia triticina, a highly specialized, polycyclic, windborne pathogen with a shallow dispersal gradient, and Pyrenophora triticirepentis, a residue-borne pathogen with a steep dispersal gradient, wheat mixtures are expected to be more effective at controlling leaf rust than tan spot. The objectives of this research were to determine the effect of two-cultivar mixtures with varying proportions and different pathogen resistance profiles on the severity of tan spot and leaf rust, to evaluate yield of the mixtures in the presence or absence of disease, and to directly compare the relative effectiveness of cultivar mixing for tan spot versus leaf rust.