Screening of Durum Wheat (Triticum turgidum L. subsp. durum (Desf.) Husn.) Italian Cultivars for Susceptibility to Fusarium Head Blight Incited by Fusarium graminearum.

Gaetano Bentivenga,Maria Allegra,Karim Ammar,Alfio Spina,Santa Olga Cacciola

doi:10.3390/plants10010068

Abstract

In 2009, a set of 35 cultivars of durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. subsp. durum (Desf.) Husn.) of Italian origin was screened for fusarium head blight (FHB) susceptibility at CIMMYT (Mexico) and in the 2019–20 cropping season, 16 of these cultivars, which had been included in the Italian National Plant Variety Register, were tested again in southern and northern Italy. Wheat cultivars were artificially inoculated during anthesis with a conidial suspension of Fusarium graminearum sensu lato using a standard spray inoculation method. Inoculum was a mixture of mono-conidial isolates sourced in the same areas where the trials were performed. Isolates had been characterized on the basis of morphological characteristics and by DNA PCR amplification using a specific primer set and then selected for their virulence and ability to produce mycotoxins. The susceptibility to FHB was rated on the basis of the disease severity, disease incidence and FHB index. Almost all of the tested cultivars were susceptible or very susceptible to FHB with the only exception of “Duprì”, “Tiziana” and “Dylan” which proved to be moderately susceptible. The susceptibility to FHB was inversely correlated with the plant height and flowering biology, the tall and the late heading cultivars being less susceptible.

Highlights

Fusarium head blight (FHB) or scab, a fungal disease affecting kernel development, is one of the most damaging diseases of cereal crops such as wheat, barley and oats worldwide
The disease susceptibility indices as well as the agronomic and grain quality traits of the 35 durum wheat cultivars and six bread wheat accessions used as references tested at CIMMYT in Mexico are shown in Tables 1 and 2, respectively
The comparison among the three locations was carried out through the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of the average data using the PAST, PAleontological STatistics software package, 2011 [80], in order to graphically summarize the specific responses of the tested CVs and to highlight any similarities or dissimilarities. The results of this screening are the only available information on the fusarium head blight (FHB) susceptibility of many Italian durum wheat cultivars based on experimental data under high disease pressure and controlled experimental conditions

Summary

Introduction

Fusarium head (ear) blight (FHB) or scab, a fungal disease affecting kernel development, is one of the most damaging diseases of cereal crops such as wheat, barley and oats worldwide. It affects both durum wheat [Triticum turgidum L. subsp. Durum wheat is the most widespread staple crop in the Mediterranean area and the 10th most important crop in the world, with about 8% coverage of the wheat area [2,3] It represents a strategic commodity for several producing areas over the world, including the Mediterranean basin, North America’s Great Plains, the desert area of South-Western United States, Northern Mexico’s Yaqui Valley (state of Sonora) and.

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