Glasshouse screening of CIMMYT wheat germplasm for Fusarium head blight response in South Africa

Abstract

Fusarium head blight (FHB), mainly caused by Fusarium graminearum, is a serious disease of wheat, barley, oat and maize. Yield losses up to 40% have been reported and grain may contain mycotoxins that are harmful to humans and animals. In South Africa no wheat cultivars are resistant to FHB and no fungicides have been registered locally. Genetic resistance has the potential to provide cost-effective control, therefore Fusarium-resistant wheat germplasm from the Scab Resistant Screening Nursery (SRSN) obtained at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) was imported and screened for Type II FHB resistance in the glasshouse. SST 825 (susceptible control), Sumai 3 (resistant control) and 13 entries from the ninth SRSN were screened. An area under the disease progress curve was calculated for each entry. SST 825 and Sumai 3 showed the highest and lowest FHB severities, respectively. Two entries were similar to SST 825 in their response to FHB, whereas seven entries were moderately susceptible. Three entries were moderately resistant, one entry was resistant, and Sumai 3 was highly resistant.