Research Progress Report 309 June, 1967
Riley 67 Soft Red Winter Wheat, Resistant To Leaf Rust and Loose Smut
R. M. Caldwell, L. E. Compton, F. L. Patterson, J. F. Schafer, and R. L. Gallun Departments of Botany and Plant Pathology, Agronomy and Entomology in cooperation with the
Divisions of Crops Research and Entomology Research,
A.R.S., U. S. Department of Agriculture

The release of Riley 67 (Purdue 6234 Composite, CI14110) provides a variety of the plant type of Riley with added high resistance to leaf rust. Riley was distributed in 1965 as the first variety to combine high resistance to loose smut into the high yielding, short, early maturing plant type now so popular in Indiana. It also possesses stiffer straw than any previously released variety for this area (Research Progress Report 200, 1965). The new Riley 67 is resistant to the new races of the leaf-rust fungus which are able to attack the resistance of Riley, Monon and Knox 62, all of which derived resistance from Chinese spring wheat. In the past, leaf rust has been the most serious disease threat to soft winter wheat.

Riley 67 was bred through the cooperation of the Purdue Agricultural Experiment Station and the Crops and Entomology Research Divisions of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Parentage and Breeding
Riley 67 is the composite of 19 lines homozygous (pure breeding) for the "Transfer type" of resistance to leaf rust, which were selected from four F1 families of the fifth
backcross to Riley following the initial cross of Riley with a Knox type plant in which the "Transfer type" of leaf rust resistance had been incorporated. The leaf rust resistance in Transfer came from an intergeneric cross made by E. R. Sears of the U. S. Department of Agriculture between a spring wheat and Aegilops umbellulatam, a wild relative of wheat. This is the first use of this resistance in a soft winter wheat.

Performance
Riley 67 is like Riley in all characters except for the added resistance to leaf rust. The four families were similar to Riley in performance in 1964-65 (Table 1). In 1965-66 Riley 67 (composite of 19 lines) was tested in nursery trials (Table 1), in field plots at four locations in Indiana (Table 2), and in regional trials at 21 locations in the eastern soft wheat region of the United States. The results indicate the similarity of the two varieties except for resistance to leaf rust. Riley 67 may be compared to other short early varieties in Tables 1 and 2. Riley should be replaced with Riley 67 in commercial production as soon as seed is available to provide

PURDUE UNIVERSITY • Agricultural Experiment Station • Lafayette, Indiana