Indian Society of Genetics & Plant Breeding
LINUM usitatissimum L. is cultivated practically throughout the world for fibre or seed
or both. An important limiting factor in the production of the crop is the rust disease
caused by Melampsora lini (Pers.) Lev., which often causes considerable loss, both
in terms of quality and quantity. A large number of physiologic races of the parasite
are known to occur in the world and no single variety of the host is resistant to all of
them. Therefore, it has been considered more practical to evolve suitable varieties
on a regional basis, incorporating resistance to the local race flora. In India, six races
of the rust have been reported (Lele, 1952; Vasudeva, Sethi and Lele, 1955; Misra,
1963). It appeared desirable to determine the operative genes for immunity or
resistance to these'Indian races in the differentials evolved by Flor (1955); these
differentials were found by him to possess in most cases single genes, falling in one
offive multiple allelic series, for resistance to American races ofthe rust. In the present
paper, the number of operative genes for immunity or resistance, in some of Flor's
differentials and two species of Linum, to five commonly occurring Indian races are
reported.
Year: 1964
Volume: 24
Issue: 3
Article DOI: NA
Print ISSN: 0019-5200
Online ISSN: 0975-6906
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