Resistance of winter wheat varieties registered in the Czech Republic to mycotoxin accumulation in grain following inoculation with Fusarium culmorum

Abstract

Resistance of 35 winter wheat varieties to the accumulation of mycotoxins deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone (ZEA) in grain was evaluated in field trials lasting three years (2004, 2005, 2006) after artificial inoculation with <i>Fusarium culmorum</i>. Data on DON and ZEA content were supplemented by symptom scores and determination of % of Fusarium damaged grains and % reductions of thousand grain weight and grain weight per spike due to infection. The conditions of experimental years highly influenced the performance of all characters. The highest production of DON occurred in 2006 at a high temperature and high moisture content during the infection period. Moderate resistance to the accumulation of DON (at the level of Swiss variety Arina) was detected in the varieties Apache, Samanta, Simila and Alana. Another six varieties (Rheia, Banquet, Ludwig, Rapsodia, Dromos and Globus) also showed relatively low average DON content, but a higher fluctuation in experimental years. DON content was positively related to ZEA content and significant correlations were also detected between DON content and the examined disease severity traits. In all years the earlier varieties showed lower DON accumulation than later varieties, but the effects of genotype earliness on the other traits, including ZEA content, were not often significant (not similar under different conditions). The obtained results could help to improve the classification of varieties from these aspects, which is desirable for recommendation on their use in practice and breeding.