Performance of some Durum Wheat Cultivars in the Presence of Yellow Rust Disease Under Rain-Fed in Sulaimani, Iraq

Yellow rust, also known as stripe rust, is a significant disease that affects wheat in Iraq. The current study was conducted to study host-parasite interaction of some durum wheat cultivars with the new yellow rust (Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici) (Pst) races at adult plant stage in the field during the growing seasons, 2021 to 2023 under rain fed conditions in Sulaimani. Furthermore, Agricultural characteristics of the tested durum cultivar were also determined in the presence of the disease. The findings revealed that most durum wheat cultivars were moderately susceptible to susceptible to yellow rust disease under Sulaimani environmental conditions. The mean coefficient of yellow rust infection ranged from 1.73 in Ofanto to 23 in Cham-5. However, some cultivars, such as Cham-1, Fadda-98, and Ofanto, displayed moderate resistance response to the disease, while others, like Bhuth-5 and Acsad-65, showed moderate susceptibility. Yellow rust parameters (Diseases severity, infection type and coefficient of infection) were higher in 2023 season compared to 2022 in most of the tested cultivars. Additionally, the moderate resistant cultivar cv. Fadda-98 displayed distinct in some plant traits compared to other durum wheat cultivars, such as plant height (101.12cm), awn length (14.21cm), number of grains per spike (60.22), grain weight per spike (2.92g), biological yield (2292.4 g/m2), and grain yield (783.13). The study finding enhances wide cultivation of cv. Fadda-98 in the hot spot of yellow rust lands in Iraq.