Cereal Research Communications 47(3), pp. 484–495 (2019) DOI: 10.1556/0806.47.2019.19 0133-3720/$20.00 © 2019 Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest Phenotypic Characterization of Canadian Barley Advanced Breeding Lines for Multiple Disease Resistance M. Osman 1,2 , X. He 1 , F. Capettini 3 , J. Helm 3 and P.K. Singh 1 * 1 International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Apdo. Postal 6-641, 06600 Mexico DF, Mexico 2 Julius-von-Sachs Institute of Biosciences, Pharmaceutical Biology, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Julius-von-Sachs-Platz 2, D-97082 Würzburg, Germany 3 Field Crop Development Centre, Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development, 503050 Street, Lacombe, AB, T4L 1W8, Canada (Received 5 June 2018; Accepted 2 April 2019; Communicated by Á. Mesterházy) Fungal diseases pose a great challenge to Canadian barley production, among which are Fusarium head blight (FHB), yellow rust and scald. An integrated management approach is needed to mitigate these diseases, in which breeding for host resistance is the most efective component. Constant evaluation of advanced breeding lines for their resistance to the dis- eases is important for making steady progression. The main objective of this study was to screen 1,174 barley accessions, from a collaborative project between the Field Crop Development Center (FCDC), Alberta, Canada, and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Mexico for their reactions to the three diseases. For FHB a 1–5 scale was employed to discard the very susceptible material in 2012 and 2013. In 2014, 514 most resistant lines having the score 1 in 2013 were re-evaluated in a replicated experi- ment. The most promising 166 genotypes were selected and advanced for their last evalua- tion in 2015 where FHB index was measured. Simultaneously, these 166 genotypes were subjected to two more experiments to test their reactions against stripe rust and scald. Eighteen two-rowed barley genotypes exhibiting broad-spectrum resistance to all of the three evaluated diseases were identifed in addition to 40 lines combining FHB resistance with resistance to Mexican isolates and natural fungal population of either of the two foliar diseases and could be utilized in breeding programs aimed at improving resistance to multi- ple barley leaf and head blight diseases. Keywords: Fusarium head blight, scald, stripe rust, multiple disease resistance Introduction Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is a major cereal crop in Canada, the European Union, Aus- tralia and many other countries. The average barley production in Canada during the pe- riod 2011–2014 was 8.28 million tons ranking 4 th after Russia, France, and Germany. Western Canadian provinces including Saskatchewan and Alberta are the main barley producing provinces. *Corresponding author; E-mail: pk.singh@cgiar.org