Evaluation of wheat (Triticum aestivum L) genotypes for yield and rust resistance under Rainfed conditions in mid hills of Nepal

Wheat, the third major staple crop of Nepal has been suffered from many diseases. Various diseases are the major limiting factors of considerable wheat production; one of them is rust. There are three types of rust in wheat, leaf rust, stripe rust and stem rust (Black rust). However, the major biotic constrains are yellow rust in hills and leaf rust in plains of Nepal. Severity of leaf rust gradually increasing year after year in hills of Nepal also. In order to identify the high yielder, rusts resistant wheat genotypes for mid hills of Nepal, an experiment was carried out at Agricultural Research Station, Dailekh during 2014-2015. It was designed in Randomized complete block design (RCBD), composed of twenty wheat genotypes with three replications. Each plot was made eight rows of three meter long. Manually harvested middle six rows leaving one row both side as a boarder. Rust scoring was done thrice in seven days interval. Average coefficient of infection (ACI) was calculated. The highest ACI was 63.3 followed by 57.5 of genotypes WK 1481 and WK 2214 respectively for stripe rust. Similarly, the highest ACI was found 52.33, 18.33 and 18.33 in genotype WK 2437, WK 2381 and WK 2214 respectively for leaf rust. The grain yield was found highest (5549 kgha-1) in genotype WK 2278.