Eyespot is one of the most important fungal diseases of the stem base of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). The presented study clearly demonstrated that the Pch1 gene was the main effective source for reducing the eyespot disease score in the analyzed winter wheat lines. Nevertheless, Pch1 was present only in 8−9% of the investigated lines. Using an isoenzymatic marker and molecular markers, the presence of the Pch1 gene and lack of the Pch2 gene was identified in six lines. Two lines, SMH 9409 and DL 358/13/4, were polymorphic in an isoenzymatic marker study. In the remaining three lines, C 3373/11-1, KBH 15.15 and KBP 1416, the Pch1 gene was identified only with the use of an isoenzymatic marker. Both genes Pch1 and Pch2, as well as the resistant variety Rendezvous, were found in three lines: DD 248/12, KBP 15.2 and STH 4431. In line DD 708/13, the presence of the Pch1 and Pch2 genes was identified, where the association between the Pch1 and the locus of the Xorw5 marker was broken. It was shown that the presence or absence of Pch1 and Pch2 genes did not significantly affect the grain yield (from the plot), although the yield was highest in the presence of both genes. A significant effect of the presence of the Pch1 gene on thousand kernel weight (TKW) was observed. Lines with the Pch1 gene showed significantly higher TKW values than lines without both genes or with the Pch2 gene only.

Barley scald, caused by Rhynchosporium commune is one of the most prevalent diseases in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) worldwide. The primary loss from scald is reduced yield, which can exceed 25% in dry areas. In our earlier studies, we developed a low-resolution linkage map for recombinant inbred lines of the cross Tadmor/WI2291. Quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for scald were localized on chromosomes 2H and 3H flanked by Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) markers HVM54 and Bmac0093b on 2H and HVLTPP8, HVM62 and Bmag0006 on 3H. These chromosome 3H markers were found to be located close to the Rrs1 − R. commune resistance gene(s) on chromosome 3H. In this study, 10 homozygous resistant and 10 homozygous susceptible plants each from the F7 population of Tadmor/ Sel160, a panel of 23 barley varieties used routinely in the International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) breeding program and three populations were used for scald resistance screening using 25 DNA markers that are located very close to scald resistance gene(s) on barley chromosomes. Only five of those markers clearly discriminated co-dominantly between resistant and susceptible plants. These markers, Ebmac0871- SSR, HVS3-SCAR, Bmag0006-SSR, reside on different arms of barley chromosome 3H. Ebmac871 is localized on the short arm of 3H and HVS3 and Bmag0006 are localized on the long arm of 3H. This result indicates that the scald resistance genes which they tag are probably close to the centromeric region of this chromosome. Scald resistance from several sources map to the proximal region of the long arm of chromosome 3H, forming the complex Rrs1 locus. The availability of highly polymorphic markers for the discrimination of breeding material would be extremely useful for barley breeders to select for the trait at the DNA level rather than relying on phenotypic expression and infection reaction.