Key challenges in breeding durable disease-resistant cereals: North America

Abstract

This chapter first describes the challenges of diverse climates, diseases, and market classes that face North American small-grain cereal breeders and producers. It discusses the challenges inherent in the complex systems of cereal breeding on the continent, and the changing resistance priorities brought about by shifting pathogen races and production practices. The remainder of the chapter is devoted (in rough order of priority) to the status and prospects for durable resistance to the main pests currently confronting the continent: Fusarium head blight, rusts, powdery mildew, leaf (and glume) blotches, viruses, Hessian fly, and bacterial leaf streak.