Dealing with biotic stresses in small grain cereals requires an understanding of the stresses themselves and reliable methods for developing resistant germplasm and appropriate management practices. To assess research priorities, we will develop a clearer picture of the epidemiology, population dynamics, distribution, and importance of major wheat, triticale, and barley diseases and pests. To reduce the genetic vulnerability of these cereals to biotic stresses, we will strengthen our partnerships with NARSs, ARIs, and other international centers to identify and use diverse sources of durable resistance/tolerance. We will improve the efficiency with which pathogens and pests are diagnosed and characterized. We will also develop new selection methods or improve the efficiency of established ones, which should enable us to screen and identify sources and/or combinations of genetic resistance/tolerance. The genetic bases and mechanisms of different sources of resistance/tolerance will be investigated. Resistance/tolerance genes for biotic stresses will be identified and diagnostic markers developed, with the objective of devising strategies for marker assisted selection (MAS). The germplasm and information emerging from this work will be disseminated widely to our research partners.
