Resistance of Eucalyptus pellita to rust (Puccinia psidii)

Abstract

Eucalypts rust (Puccinia psidii) is currently one of the major diseases in commercial eucalypt plantations in Brazil. The primary method of disease control is the use of resistant genotypes, and, among the different species of Eucalyptus, E. pellita is indicated as a promising source of resistance. In this work, the genetic control of rust resistance in E. pellita through inoculations under controlled conditions of 441 plants from four full-sibling families was studied. Inoculations were performed using the monopostular isolate UFV-2, race 1. All families tested segregated for rust resistance, and the number of resistant plants was higher than susceptible in all crosses. Inheritance models based on few genes did not fully explain the observed segregation patterns, and the narrow-sense heritability of rust resistance was estimated between 32.7% and 37.3%. The results suggested that rust resistance in E. pellita is complex and is controlled by major- and minor-effect genes.