Field resistance phenotyping of durum wheat to fusarium head blight in Algeria

Abstract

In Algeria, several research studies point to the importance of the causative agents of fusarium head blight. Indeed, our research aims to study the phenotyping of the resistance of some durum wheat genotypes for their behavior to fusarium head blight, caused by four isolates of Fusarium culmorum (Wm.G.Sm.) Sacc.. For this purpose, the disease assessment is carried out in the field. The different evaluation criteria are: incubation period, measurement of the mass of a thousand grains and AUDPC (Area Under the Disease Progression Curve). The results obtained revealed that the varieties and lines resulting from crosses had a quite different level of susceptibility with regard to the four isolates studied and no genotype showed complete resistance (immunity) under our growing conditions. Among the tested material, the lines showed higher resistance than their parents. The reasons for this phenomenon is that crosses between genotypes implicated cultivars from Europe and Western Asia (Syria), where wheat domestication has occurred very early (between 12 000 and 10 000 years BP), which may be promising sources of resistance to fusarium head blight. The results also show a slight variability in behavior, also linked to the aggressiveness of the Fusarium species studied in this work.