A review of wheat leaf rust research and the development of resistant cultivars in Canada

Wheat leaf rust, caused by Puccinia triticina Eriks., is of worldwide concern for wheat producers. The disease has been an annual problem for Canadian wheat producers since the early days of wheat cultivation in the 1800s, and research focused on combating this disease began in the early 1900s. Significant progress was made towards understanding the epidemiology of wheat leaf rust and developing genetic resistance in many countries worldwide. This review paper focuses exclusively on the research and development done in whole, or in part, in Canada. An integrated approach to controlling wheat leaf rust consisted of research in the following areas: the early research on wheat leaf rust in Canada, breeding and commercialization of high quality rust resistant wheat cultivars, discovery and genetic analysis of leaf rust resistance genes, the population biology and genetics of the P. triticina/wheat interaction. This review summarizes the research in each of these areas and the connections between the different aspects of the research. A multi-disciplinary team approach has been key to the advancements made within these diverse research fields in Canada since the early 1900s.