Evaluating the Bread Wheat Germplasm for Yield and Adult Plant Resistance to Yellow Rust under Field conditions of Mansehra

Yellow rust (Puccinia Striiformis f. sp. tritici) is a major disease that significantly impacts wheat yield and grain quality. Yellow rust poses a serious threat to wheat production in cooler areas of Pakistan. To evaluate the resistance at adult plant stage against yellow rust a set of 47 wheat varieties alongside two checks i-e; Kohat-2000 and Kohat-2017 were planted during 2018–19 cropping season. Data were recorded on days to heading, days to maturity, plant height (cm), flag leaf area (cm2), tillers m-2, spike length (cm), grains spike-1 (no.), 1000-grain weight (g), grain yield (g plot-1) and yellow rust scoring. Significant differences were found between genotypes for days to heading and 1000-grain weight. According to adjusted mean data, Shahkar-2013 had the lowest ideal days to heading (112 days) and days to maturity (157 days), but TD-1's plant height (69 cm) was the highest. Pakistan-2013 had the highest results for flag leaf area (37.3 cm2), tillers m-2 for Frontana (172 m-2), grains spike-1 for Gold-2016 (60 grains), and spike length (12.5 cm), while NIFA-Lalma-2013 had the highest grain weight (70 g) and Pavan had the highest grain yield plot-1 (250 g). Pavan, Frontana, Wadaan-2017, Tatara-96, NIFA Aman, Parula, Fateh Jhang, Pirsabak-2013, Paseena-2017, Khushal-69, Gold-2016, Pirsabak-2005, Ujala, Khaista-2017, Kohat-2017, Pirsabak-2015, and Pakistan-2013 are among 17 genotypes that were found to be high yielding and disease resistant based on yield as well as resistant against yellow rust. These 17 genotypes should be promoted for widespread cultivation in the Mansehra region to enhance wheat productivity and ensure food security while minimizing the impact of yellow rust.