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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Pullman, Washington » WHGQ » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #317621
Title: Assessment of inoculation methods to identify resistance to Fusarium crown rot in wheat

Author
item ERGINBAS-ORAKCI, GUL - International Maize & Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)
item POOLE, GRANT - Washington State University
item NICOL, JULIE - International Maize & Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)
item Paulitz, Timothy
item DABABAT, ABDELFATTAH - International Maize & Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)
item Garland-Campbell, Kimberly

Submitted to: Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/15/2015
Publication Date: 2/16/2016
Citation: Erginbas-Orakci, G., Poole, G., Nicol, J., Paulitz, T.C., Dababat, A.A., Garland Campbell, K.A. 2016. Assessment of inoculation methods to identify resistance to Fusarium crown rot in wheat. Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection. 123:19-27.

Interpretive Summary: Fusarium crown rot caused Fusarium culmorum and Fusarium pseudograminearum, is one of the most pervasive diseases of wheat throughout the world. In order to select material for tolerance or resistance, reproducible and cheap methods need to be developed for the greenhouse. This paper investigated three different inoculation techniques (seedling dip, stem base droplet and colonized grain) using a pathogenic isolate of F. culmorum in Turkey and Fusarium pseudograminearum in US. The colonized grain method produced satisfactory results and could separate susceptible from resistant lines.

Technical Abstract: Crown rot, caused by Fusarium culmorum and Fusarium pseudograminearum, is one of the most pervasive diseases of wheat throughout the world. F. culmorum is the most prevalent causal agent in Turkey while F. pseudograminearum is the most predominant in the US. Consistent and reliable screening methods are required to accelerate the identification and development of wheat cultivars for crown rot in breeding programs. A multifactor experiment with 7 replicates was established investigating three different inoculation techniques (seedling dip, stem base droplet and colonized grain) using a pathogenic isolate of F. culmorum in Turkey and Fusarium pseudograminearum in US, against known moderately resistant (MR) and susceptible (S) wheat cultivars under controlled greenhouse conditions. Plants were harvested and evaluated for crown rot severity using a 0 to 10 rating scale. Results clearly indicated that disease severity was greater in seedling dip > colonized grain > stem base inoculation (in decreasing order of severity), respectively. However, the colonized grain method produced a reasonable severity and cultivar ranking in both experiments. Results showed significant cultivar x inoculation method interactions and the two species of Fusarium were considered to be equally virulent.