Breeding wheat for resistance to Heterodera avenae in Southeastern Australia

Breeding wheat for resistance to Heterodera avenae in southern Australia has been in progress for nearly 30 years and recently a number of resistant varieties have been released. Early breeding work was hampered by three factors: • a lack of appreciation of the role and extent of the problem, • inaccurate, slow screening methods, ultimately being replaced by the 'tube' test and soon by linked molecular markers, • inappropriate breeding strategies, so that varietal releases have taken place only when the breeding has been fully integrated into the main programs. The experiences in southern Australia will be relevant to many other areas in the world where H. avenae is the major pest.