Screening of barley germplasm for resistance to root lesion nematodes

Root lesion nematodes of the genus Pratylenchus are important pests in crop cultivation that cause severe damage to crops throughout the world. P. neglectus is one of the most important members of this genus. The present study aimed to select barley accessions with resistance to P. neglectus in a greenhouse resistance test and to detect resistance quantitative trait loci (QTLs). Infection rates have been found to vary greatly among different barley accessions; however, immunity could not be found. An existing Igri × Franka doubled-haploid mapping population was used to map resistance genes after artificial inoculation with P. neglectus under controlled environment. QTLs were found with a likelihood of odds score between 2.71 and 6.35 and explaining phenotypic variation of 8 to 16%.