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Thirty lines from a cross between VPM/ Moisson 421 and Selection 101 were used in the study to determine whether strawbreaker foot rot resistance derived from Aegilops ventricosa was associated with an allele for endopeptidase. The progeny examined for foot rot lesions represented F2 derived F5 lines and enzyme assays were done on F6 seedlings. The results indicate that the wheat and 'VPM/Moisson 421' endopeptidase alleles are distinctly different. The endopeptidase allele frequencies of 30 lines were compared with strawbreaker foot rot resistance as measured by the lesion severity index. The results demonstrate a close association between the gene for strawbreaker foot rot resistance and the endopeptidase allele derived from Ae. ventricosa.

The cereal leaf beetle (CLB) Oulema melanopus (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), was considered a high risk to Washington State's cereal grain production when the pest was found there in 1999. Biological control agents, which had proven successful in the Midwest, were introduced beginning in 2000. The parasitoids were released into field insectaries that were modified for the region and set up at CLB hotspots across the state. The egg parasitoid, Anaphes flavipes (Förster) (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae), failed to establish. The larval parasitoid, Tetrastichus julis (Walker) (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), established successfully at all insectaries. Assays of commercial grain fields showed the parasitoid dispersing widely beyond the insectaries. A proactive Extension program enabled farmers to benefit from the biocontrol without applying insecticides to manage the CLB. A modified insectary, consisting of oat strips seeded between commercial fields of winter and spring wheat, demonstrated potential as a way for farmers to increase parasitoid populations on their land. Within 5 years of first overwintering, T. julis had established across the state and was effectively suppressing CLB.

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