Generation of oat varieties with enhanced resistance to crown rust and mildew

This project will utilise modern marker assisted breeding methods to develop lines of oat resistant to crown rust and mildew fungal diseases safeguarding the use of this important crop. Innovative aspects include the genetic dissection of resistance mechanisms identified in certain oat genotypes and the use of syntenic relationships with a model plant species to identify genes and markers associated with resistance. Following introgression of the resistance genes into elite germplasm the resulting lines will be tested in the field for pathogen resistance and agronomic performance. The project addresses concerns raised by 91/414/EEC that inexpensive triazole fungicides currently used in oats will be deregistered. Development of genetic resistance offers the only economically viable solution in oats to prevent losses in crop yield and quality due to these diseases which are becoming more prevalent in the UK due to global climate change. Economic benefits include the maintenance and enhancement of the UK oat area, a crop with significant benefits to producers of healthy food products, animal feed manufacturers and industrial processors, while the use of environmentally damaging fungicides will be rendered unnecessary. The project brings together the major UK company producing and marketing oat seed (Senova Ltd), the major UK institute engaged in arable crop evaluation and crop pathology (NIAB), the major UK oat breeding and genetics research organisation (IBERS, Aberystwyth) and a large farmer member based organisation engaged in crop evaluation and technology transfer (TAG) in a consortium which has the skills and commercial experience to deliver the project outcomes.