RT Journal T1 MULTIVARIATE EVALUATION OF WHEAT GENOTYPES AND MICROBIAL INOCULATION FOR ENHANCED PERFORMANCE UNDER WHEAT LEAF RUST PRESSURE A1 Ameer Hamza Aslam A1 Rabia Irshad A1 Muhammad Faheem Khan A1 Aqib Ali A1 Fatima Tu Zahra Huma Abbas A1 Amjad Abbas A1 Muhammad Amjad Ali JF Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences JO JAPS SN 1018-7081 VO 37 IS 1 YR 2027 FD 2027 DO DOI https://doi.org/10.36899/JAPS.2027.1.0003 AB

Wheat leaf rust (WLR) caused by Puccinia triticina remains an important constraint to wheat productivity and microbial seed treatment may complement host resistance by reducing disease development while sustaining plant growth and yield. However, genotype-dependent responses to individual and combined microbial treatments under field WLR pressure remain insufficiently characterized. Therefore, the present study was carried out to investigate the efficacy of beneficial microbes, Trichoderma harzianum and Bacillus sp. MN54, in managing WLR and enhancing growth and yield of wheat under field conditions. Twenty-five wheat genotypes were initially screened for disease response, and three representative genotypes, namely Galaxy-13 (moderately susceptible), Subhani-21 (moderately resistant), and Arooj-22 (resistant), were selected based on their contrasting responses to WLR severity. These genotypes were further evaluated using seed priming with T. harzianum, Bacillus sp. MN54, and their combination in a randomized complete block design (RCBD). The combined application of T. harzianum + Bacillus sp. MN54 significantly improved morpho-physiological and yield traits, resulting in increases of up to 13.0% in plant height, 17.9% in root length, 26.1% in fresh root weight, 50.0% in dry root weight, 35.1% in spike length, 61.1% in spike weight, 22.7% in grains per spike, 28.5% in 1000-grain weight, and 45.5% in grain yield per plant compared to the control. Microbial treatments significantly reduced disease severity, with the lowest values in Arooj-22 (12.0%) and Subhani-21 (17.3%) after seed priming with T. harzianum. Compared with the respective untreated controls, disease severity was reduced by approximately 37.8% in Arooj-22 and 45.4% in Subhani-21. Significant genotypic variation was observed, with Arooj-22 exhibiting superior resistance and responsiveness to microbial treatments. Correlation analysis revealed strong positive relationships among growth and yield traits, while WLR severity showed significant negative associations with yield components (r = −0.80 to −0.82). Principal component analysis (PCA) confirmed that yield traits and disease severity were the primary drivers of variation. These findings demonstrate that microbial seed treatments, particularly in combination, can effectively suppress WLR, enhance host growth, and improve grain yield and grain biomass in wheat, providing a sustainable approach for integrated disease management.

K1 Wheat leaf rust, Bacillus sp. MN54, Puccinia triticina, seed priming, Triticum aestivum; Trichoderma harzianum. PB Pakistan Agricultural Scientists Forum LK https://thejaps.org.pk/AbstractView.aspx?mid=2026-JAPS_474