Fusarium Head Blight (FHB), caused by the fungal species Fusarium graminearum, is a disease affecting wheat cultivars across Canada. Recent and severe outbreaks have spurred research in developing FHB-resistant cultivars and evaluating the underlying causes of FHB susceptibility. In this study, the effect of plant height on Fusarium Head Blight in Canadian spring wheat was evaluated over a two-year period. Cultivars of spring wheat varying in origin, height, and disease susceptibility were artificially inoculated with FHB, and the subsequent disease symptoms and height data was collected. It was found that plant height is negatively correlated with FHB incidence and severity. However, varieties originating from Eastern Canada had a much stronger negative correlation between plant height and FHB, whereas the trials with Western Canada origins had a weaker correlation.
In the present era of climate instability, Canadian wheat production has been frequently affected by abiotic stresses and by dynamic populations of pathogens and pests that are more virulent and aggressive over time. Genetic diversity is fundamental to guarantee sustainable and improved wheat production. In the past, the genetics of Brazilian cultivars, such as Frontana, have been studied by Canadian researchers and consequently, Brazilian germplasm has been used to breed Canadian wheat cultivars. The objective of this study was to characterize a collection of Brazilian germplasm under Canadian growing conditions, including the reaction of the Brazilian germplasm to Canadian isolates/pathogens and to predict the presence of certain genes in an effort to increase genetic diversity, improve genetic gain and resilience of Canadian wheat. Over 100 Brazilian hard red spring wheat cultivars released from 1986 to 2016 were evaluated for their agronomic performance in eastern Canada. Some cultivars showed good adaptability, with several cultivars being superior or statistically equal to the highest yielding Canadian checks. Several Brazilian cultivars had excellent resistance to leaf rust, even though only a few of these tested positive for the presence of either Lr34 or Lr16, two of the most common resistance genes in Canadian wheat. Resistance for stem rust, stripe rust and powdery mildew was variable among the Brazilian cultivars. However, many Brazilian cultivars had high levels of resistance to Canadian and African - Ug99 strains of stem rust. Many Brazilian cultivars had good Fusarium head blight (FHB) resistance, which appears to be derived from Frontana. In contrast FHB resistance in Canadian wheat is largely based on the Chinese variety, Sumai-3. The Brazilian germplasm is a valuable source of semi-dwarf (Rht) genes, and 75% of the Brazilian collection possessed Rht-B1b. Many cultivars in the Brazilian collection were found to be genetically distinct from Canadian wheat, making them a valuable resource to increase the disease resistance and genetic variability in Canada and elsewhere.
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