Indian Phytopath. 56 (1) : 75-77 (2003) Pathotype distribution of Puccinia graminis tritici In India during 1998-2001

Black (stem) rust of wheat is a major disease of wheat and barley worldwide Generally it occurs in endemic form, however, in favourable years it is known to cause considerable losses. In India it is more common in peninsular and central zones where both durum and bread wheats are grown and northern India where wheat and barley are cultivated. Collections of black rust samples of wheat were made during 1998-2001 from farmer's fields. trap nurseries and experimental fields from different states of India. The samples were analysed following the standard methods (1,4). Standard greenhouse procedures for inoculation post inoculation and recording were followed (4). Black rust of wheat and barley was restricted in distribution only to the Nilgiri hills in Tamil Nadu, summer crop areas in Himachal Pradesh and some areas of central and peninsular India. One sample each was collected from Bihar, Delhi and Punjab also. The disease was more Wide spread dunnq 1997-98.Four hundred and sixty eight samples of black rust of wheat were analyse