Registration of PGMB-15-30 Spring Wheat

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) line PGMB-15-30 (Reg. No. GP1032, PI 689432; Reg. No. Pak 36952) was developed by exposing seed of spring wheat cultivar NN-Gandum-1 to an optimized concentration (0.8% v/v) of ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS), with a goal of improving resistance to rust diseases. Each generation (M-1 to M-4) was advanced by collecting the main spike from each plant in the mutant population. Response to leaf rust and yellow rust was scored at each generation. At the M-5 stage, seven mutant lines showing resistance to leaf rust and yellow rust were identified. These lines were subjected to multiple location trials from 2014 to 2016 where yield response and disease resistance were recorded. In these trials, PGMB-15-30 was found to be the most resistant among all the mutants and showed higher grain yield potential compared with the wild-type NNGandum- 1, 'Morocco', and the local cultivar Galaxy-13. In the National Wheat Disease Screening Nursery trials, PGMB-15-30 demonstrated high resistance to leaf rust and yellow rust in three provinces of Pakistan in 2015-2016. This mutant line is being multiplied for commercial release and is also being used extensively in breeding programs for improving resistance to rust diseases in cultivated wheat varieties. Thus, this line could be a useful resource for understanding the genetics of resistance to the tested rust diseases and has the potential to improve sustainability of wheat production in the country by combining high yield and rust resistance together into one cultivar.