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Spot blotch (SB) caused by Bipolaris sorokiniana (teleomorph Cochliobolus sativus) is one of the devastating diseases of wheat in the warm and humid growing areas around the world. B. sorokiniana can infect leaves, stem, roots, rachis and seeds, and is able to produce toxins like helminthosporol and sorokinianin. No wheat variety is immune to SB; hence, an integrated disease management strategy is indispensable in disease prone areas. A range of fungicides, especially the triazole group, have shown good effects in reducing the disease, and crop-rotation, tillage and early sowing are among the favorable cultural management methods. Resistance is mostly quantitative, being governed by QTLs with minor effects, mapped on all the wheat chromosomes. Only four QTLs with major effects have been designated as Sb1 through Sb4. Despite, marker assisted breeding for SB resistance in wheat is scarce. Better understanding of wheat genome assemblies, functional genomics and cloning of resistance genes will further accelerate breeding for SB resistance in wheat.

Wheat blast (WB) caused by Magnaporthe oryzae pathotype Triticum (MoT) is an important fungal disease in tropical and subtropical wheat production regions. The disease was initially identified in Brazil in 1985, and it subsequently spread to some major wheat-producing areas of the country as well as several South American countries such as Bolivia, Paraguay, and Argentina. In recent years, WB has been introduced to Bangladesh and Zambia via international wheat trade, threatening wheat production in South Asia and Southern Africa with the possible further spreading in these two continents. Resistance source is mostly limited to 2NS carriers, which are being eroded by newly emerged MoT isolates, demonstrating an urgent need for identification and utilization of non-2NS resistance sources. Fungicides are also being heavily relied on to manage WB that resulted in increasing fungal resistance, which should be addressed by utilization of new fungicides or rotating different fungicides. Additionally, quarantine measures, cultural practices, non-fungicidal chemical treatment, disease forecasting, biocontrol etc., are also effective components of integrated WB management, which could be used in combination with varietal resistance and fungicides to obtain reasonable management of this disease.

Spot blotch (SB) disease causes significant yield loss in wheat production in the warm and humid regions of the eastern Gangetic plains (EGP) of South Asia (SA). Most of the cultivated varieties in the eastern part of SA are affected by SB under favorable climatic conditions. To understand the nature of SB resistance and map the underlying resistant loci effective in SA, two bi-parental mapping populations were evaluated for 3 years, i.e., 2013–2015 for the BARTAI × CIANO T79 population (denoted as BC) and 2014–2016 for the CASCABEL × CIANO T79 population (CC), at Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. DArTSeq genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) platform was used for genotyping of the populations. Distribution of disease reaction of genotypes in both populations was continuous, revealing the quantitative nature of resistance. Significant “genotype,” “year,” and “genotype × year” interactions for SB were observed. Linkage map with the genome coverage of 8,598.3 and 9,024.7 cM in the BC and CC population, respectively, was observed. Two quantitative trait loci (QTLs) were detected on chromosomes 1A and 4D in the BC population with an average contribution of 4.01 and 12.23% of the total phenotypic variation (PV), respectively. Seven stable QTLs were detected on chromosomes 1B, 5A, 5B, 6A, 7A, and 7B in the CC population explaining 2.89–10.32% of PV and collectively 39.91% of the total PV. The QTL detected at the distal end of 5A chromosome contributed 10.32% of the total PV. The QTLs on 6A and 7B in CC could be new, and the one on 5B may represent the Sb2 gene. These QTLs could be used in SB resistance cultivar development for SA.

Wheat blast (WB) disease, since its first identification in Bangladesh in 2016, is now an established serious threat to wheat production in South Asia. There is a need for sound knowledge about resistance sources and associated genomic regions to assist breeding programs. Hence, a panel of genotypes from India and Bangladesh was evaluated for wheat blast resistance and a genome-wide association study (GWAS) was performed. Disease evaluation was done during five crop seasons—at precision phenotyping platform (PPPs) for wheat blast disease at Jashore (2018–19), Quirusillas (2018–19 and 2019–20) and Okinawa (2019 and 2020). Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) across the genome were obtained using DArTseq genotyping-by-sequencing platform, and in total 5713 filtered markers were used. GWAS revealed 40 significant markers associated with WB resistance, of which 33 (82.5%) were in the 2NS/2AS chromosome segment and one each on seven chromosomes (3B, 3D, 4A, 5A, 5D, 6A and 6B). The 2NS markers contributed significantly in most of the environments, explaining an average of 33.4% of the phenotypic variation. Overall, 22.4% of the germplasm carried 2NS/2AS segment. So far, 2NS translocation is the only effective WB resistance source being used in the breeding programs of South Asia. Nevertheless, the identification of non-2NS/2AS genomic regions for WB resistance provides a hope to broaden and diversify resistance for this disease in years to come.

Spot blotch (SB) disease caused by the hemibiotrophic pathogen Bipolaris sorokiniana inflicting major losses to the wheat grown in warm and highly humid areas of the Indian subcontinent, including Bangladesh, necessitates identification of QTLs stably expressing in Indian subcontinent conditions. Thus, two RIL mapping populations, i.e., WC (WUYA × CIANO T79) and KC (KATH × CIANO T79), were phenotyped at Dinajpur, Bangladesh for three consecutive years (2013-2015) and genotyped on a DArTseq genotyping by sequencing (GBS) platform at CIMMYT, Mexico. In both populations, quantitative inheritance along with transgressive segregation for SB resistance was identified. The identified QTLs were mostly minor and were detected on 10 chromosomes, i.e., 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 2D, 4B, 4D, 5A, 5D, and 7B. The phenotypic variation explained by the identified QTLs ranged from 2.3–15.0%, whereby QTLs on 4B (13.7%) and 5D (15.0%) were the largest in effect. The identified QTLs upon stacking showed an additive effect in lowering the SB score in both populations. The probable presence of newly identified Sb4 and durable resistance gene Lr46 in the identified QTL regions indicates the importance of these genes in breeding for SB resistance in Bangladesh and the whole of South Asia.