There are a number of cereal diseases that a grower must consider when selecting a new cereal
variety. These include but are not limited to Crown Rot, Yellow spot, stripe, stem and leaf rust,
blights and smuts to name a few.
When selecting a variety growers should consider the possible impacts of the disease and the
severity with which it can affect the crop, as well as the relevant control measures available e.g.
fungicides to help control the disease. There is a rating scheme based on susceptibility of the
variety to a given disease as per below:
R: Resistant
R-MR: Resistant-Moderately Resistant
MR: Moderately Resistant
MR-MS:
Moderately Resistant- Moderately Susceptible
MS: Moderately Susceptible
MS-S: Moderately
Susceptible-Susceptible
S: Susceptible
S-VS: Susceptible-Very Susceptible
VS: Very
Susceptible
Resistance ratings are readily available in the DPI sowing guides and NVT online as well as the
variety notes on our website.
NB: disease resistance ratings change from year to year, especially with Stripe Rust, as new strains
of the pathogen develop.