Development and characterization of the 4th CSISA-spot blotch nursery of bread wheat

Spot blotch (SB) caused by Cochliobolus sativus is a serious biotic stress to wheat in warm and humid areas, particularly South Asia (SA). In order to support South Asian farmers to combat SB, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) established an efficient SB screening system at Agua Fria, Mexico and developed a nursery under the project - Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA). The materials used to form CSISA-SB nursery were selected from advanced breeding lines from different wheat breeding programs at CIMMYT. Seed of CSISA-SB nursery was produced at disease-free plots at El Batan and Mexicali, and distributed to SA after rigorous seed health checks. The 4th CSISA-SB, made available in 2012, comprised 50 entries including two resistant and two susceptible checks. The nursery was evaluated in seven locations in Mexico, India, and Bangladesh in the 2012–13 cropping season. The results indicated that although few lines exhibited stable resistance across locations due to strong G × E interaction, promising lines with SB resistance and good agronomy can still be identified in each location. The two most promising lines showing consistent spot blotch resistance across the regions were CHUKUI#1 (CIMMYT germplasm bank identification number, GID 6178575) and VAYI#1 (GID 6279248). These lines could be promoted as sources of SB resistance or directly released as cultivars in SA.