Susceptibility of spring emmer cultivars and breeding lines to Stagonospora nodorum blotch in New York, 2025

Stagonospora nodorum blotch (causal agent: Parastagonospora nodorum) is a prominent foliar disease affecting spring emmer production in New York. Symptoms include yellowish to tan-brown, oval or lens-shaped lesions. A collection of six cultivars and 41 breeding lines are reported for reaction to Stagonospora nodorum blotch across two field sites in Tompkins County near Ithaca, NY in 2025. Significant variation in the reaction to Stagonospora nodorum blotch in the Ketola site and across environments highlighted the susceptibility of cultivars and identified several breeding lines that can contribute towards breeding for resistance to Stagonospora nodorum blotch in spring emmer.