Evaluation of Sequential Planting Method for Screening of Durable Resistance against Rice Blast in Rice Breeding Program

Abstract

A sequential planting method was developed to screen rice plants with durable resistance against rice blast in a short time, and applied for several years in Korean rice breeding program. In this study, we showed the advantages of a sequential planting method compared to other pathogenicity tests. The correlation analysis among three pathogenicity tests and other factors demonstrated that durable resistance depended on the average of diseased leaf area and the number of compatible pathogens. Significant correlations were found in the nursery test but not in the field test result. In addition, we traced changes in the pathogen population during sequential planting stages through re-isolation of the pathogen. The portion of compatible pathogens was increased during sequential planting. Through this study, we provide an effective sequential planting method and direction of durable resistance in a breeding program.

Keywords

• Durable resistance
• Pathogen population
• Rice blast