VIEW ARTICLE

Susceptibility of Barley to Tilletia controversa. Wade G. Dewey, Professor of Plant Breeding, Department of Plant Science, Utah State University, Logan 84322; J. A. Hoffmann, Research Plant Pathologist, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Crops Research Laboratory, Utah State University, Logan 84322. Phytopathology 65:654-657. Accepted for publication 11 January 1975. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-65-654.

Dwarf bunt was observed in winter barley (Hordeum vulgare) in northern Utah in 1971. Symptomatology, teliospore morphology and germination, and pathogenicity identified the causal organism as Tilletia controversa, race D-6. Cross-inoculation resulted in the transfer of dwarf bunt from barley to wheat, and from wheat to barley. This apparently is the first recorded occurrence of T. controversa on barley in the western hemisphere. The infrequency with which dwarf bunt was induced in barley cultivars suggests that genes for susceptibility in barley are not widespread.