Reaction of Spring Malting Barley Cultivars and Breeding Lines to Foliar Diseases in New York, 2024

Foliar diseases of spring malting barley ( Hordeum vulgare) include scald ( Rhynchosporium commune) and leaf blotches, such as spot blotch ( Bipolaris sorokiniana), net blotch ( Pyrenophora teres), and Stagonospora nodorum blotch ( Parastagonospora nodorum). Symptoms include water-soaked to necrotic lesions with a distinctive brown margin (scald), small circular dark brown lesions with a chlorotic zone (spot blotch and spot form net blotch), small dark brown lesions that develop into a net-like pattern (net form net blotch), and yellowish to tan-brown, oval or lens-shaped lesions (Stagonospora nodorum blotch). A collection of 8 cultivars and 28 breeding lines are reported for reaction to the foliar diseases across two field sites in Tompkins County near Ithaca, NY, in 2024. Differentiation of reaction to natural inoculum of the foliar diseases identified lines with resistance to leaf blotches as well as scald that may be useful for breeding for foliar disease resistance.