The Inheritance of Resistance to Septoria Glume Blotch II. The Wild Wheat Species Aegilops speltoides

The inheritance of resistance in the wild wheat species Ae. speltoides L. to Septoria glume blotch (Septoria nodorum Berk.) was investigated. It was characterized by two parameters measured on detached leaves, namely lesion size (LS) and length of latent period (LP), and by the severity of the disease under field conditions (DS). The genetic analysis was based on the F₁ and F₂ generations of a 4 × 4 diallel cross between four Ae. speltoides accessions showing differential resistance to the pathogen. The three parameters of resistance were highly correlated. Considerable heterosis for resistance was found for each of the parameters in most of the diallel combinations. The estimates of broad‐sense heritability were moderately high (0.50 — LS, 0.60 — LP, 0.52 — DS), while the estimates of narrow‐sense heritability were low (0.16 for LS, 0.20 for LP, 0.25 for DS). There were no indications for genie interaction. It is suggested that the resistance is controlled by at least two genes with over‐dominance of the alleles for higher resistance. Highly resistant Ae. speltoides accessions are a potential source of germplasm for improving the resistance of cultivated wheats to Septoria glume blotch. The possibility of using dominant alleles for resistance in hybrid cultivars is discussed.