Thanks, Elizabete! I should have said "shows rust resistance' (per surveys/reports) as that is the focus of efforts to identify useful DL series and does not denote any 'guarantee.' The uncomfortable part of shepherding any living and domesticated (sold) plant or animal is that those who sell are sensitive to having variety name reports made known, as you said, some may rely on income that depends on a level of confidence in the health of their 'goods.'
On the other hand, it can be very expensive and counter-business-productive to find oneself needing to frequently replace, refund, or repair customer relations when a commodity continues to disappoint or deflect return-purchasers, especially if the product has previously been a problem for other consumers. (sorry, i have a bit of law school taken, and if previous indicators show that plant-x has not performed well, and sellers continue to profit from it at buyer's (sometimes great) expense ... there may be some issue regarding profit-making in that manner).
The upside comes in when sellers put forth a good faith effort to maintain the vitality of their genetically produced (and hybridizer-choreographed) live goods, and educate buyers on how to make informed purchases and provide best care. Such a good seller-buyer experience can only be strengthened by open disclosure of plant performance if reported against its peers when impacted in a shared garden. And, with an open database like ATP, if and when a DL that 'shows susceptibility' is found over time to be more resistant than originally thought, it is easy for any member to make a change. True for all plants, not just DLs.
After initially working through the daylilyrust.org list it is very encouraging to see how many have already been shown to be resistant, both diploid and tetraploid, dormant to evergreen, all colors and form, tiny to large, and so on. There is a great resource there, and i applaud the 'naming of variety names' by DR.org, AHS, ATP, Texas A&M, U of Georgia, leaders in the commercial community and even general hobbyists, and on and on ...
... after all, they are only elevating the reports of those who most care about DLs, hobbyists and hybridizers alike.
... i guess i'm a bit surprised when a hybridizer doesn't endorse such proven methods for identifying, and keeping viable, those DLs that show resistance amongst their peers... when suntory stepped in to the fuchsia arena, after the great blight that tore US fuchsia societies apart when the gall mite arrived, they quickly identified a super-resistant strain. unfortunately, those previously active independent hybridizers are still struggling to backpedal ... after suntory went on to financially benefit by patenting, rendering sterile, and selling their resistant fuchsias through higher end distributors.
who knows ... it may be, in the end, hybridizers who become the most interested parties in ensuring the healthy future of their source of income, and of the lines they have lovingly created for the world to enjoy
6/26/12
UPDATED - To Track Data Origin and Procedure
There is a wealth of academic study, financially supported in part by the AHS and others, easily available on the internet that cover thousands of individual daylily. The standard of practice among those controlled experiments has been to directly innoculate (infect) the cultivar and observe and record its performance over multiple trials and tests before determining its resistance or susceptibility.
An especially good article from the University of Georgia, specifically addressing how hybridizers can utilize this data to strengthen their practices, was published in the scientifically peer-reviewed journal Horticular Science, Vol. 38(6), October 2003, and can be found at:
http://hortsci.ashspublication...
An interesting article that may suggest the use of diluted dishwashing soap as a very effective means for informally controlling rust is at (see table on page 52):
http://www.uoguelph.ca/~thsian...
Other academic sources for updates to the ATP Daylily Database for Rust Resistance/Susceptibility:
http://www.daylilyrust.org/sur...
http://plantclinic.cornell.edu...
http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/en...
http://www.maine.gov/agricultu...
http://hortsci.ashspublication...
http://hortsci.ashspublication...
http://www.uoguelph.ca/~thsian...
http://turf.uark.edu/research/...
http://massnrc.org/pests/linke...
http://daylilies.uaex.edu/ (default sort by cultivar)
http://naldc.nal.usda.gov/down...
I will continue to update as more data is entered. :}