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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Pullman, Washington » WHGQ » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #402496
Research Project: Ecology and Genomics of Soilborne Pathogens, Beneficial Microbes, and the Microbiome of Wheat, Barley, and Biofuel Brassicas

Location: Wheat Health, Genetics, and Quality Research

Title: Response of Tunisian durum wheat vs. bread wheat to Fusarium foot and root rot under semi-arid conditions

Author
item CHEKALI, SAMIRA - Institute National De La Recherche Agronomique De Tunisie (INRAT)
item AYED, SOUROUR - Institute National De La Recherche Agronomique De Tunisie (INRAT)
item KHEMIR, EYA - Institute National De La Recherche Agronomique De Tunisie (INRAT)
item GARGOURI, SAMIA - Institute National De La Recherche Agronomique De Tunisie (INRAT)
item MARZOUGUI, SALEM - Institute National De La Recherche Agronomique De Tunisie (INRAT)
item Paulitz, Timothy
item GHARBI, MOHAMED SALEH - Institute National De La Recherche Agronomique De Tunisie (INRAT)

Submitted to: Journal of Plant Pathology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/26/2024
Publication Date: 6/4/2024
Citation: Chekali, S., Ayed, S., Khemir, E., Gargouri, S., Marzougui, S., Paulitz, T.C., Gharbi, M. 2024. Response of Tunisian durum wheat vs. bread wheat to Fusarium foot and root rot under semi-arid conditions. European Journal of Plant Pathology. 2024(6). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42161-024-01659-3.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42161-024-01659-3

Interpretive Summary: Fusarium foot and root rot (FFRR) is one of the most important soil-borne diseases, specifically on durum wheat which is the main cultivated species in Tunisia. During two successive years (2017 and 2018), the behavior of 24 durum wheat genotypes including new and old varieties, and advanced lines vs. five bread wheat varieties were evaluated to FFRR. This work confirmed the susceptibility of durum wheat compared to bread wheat and highlighted the impact of climatic conditions on disease severity and potential yield loss in the Tunisian farming system.

Technical Abstract: Fusarium foot and root rot is one of the most important soil-borne diseases of cereals, specifically on durum wheat which is the main cultivated species in Tunisia. To highlight the behavior of Tunisian durum wheat to this disease, genotypes including new and old varieties, and advanced lines were compared to five bread wheat varieties. Disease parameters (disease severity and whitehead rate) as well as grain yield, thousand kernel weight (TKW), heading date and height of plant were assessed in inoculated and non-inoculated field plots in 2017 and 2018. Overall, durum wheat grain yield was strongly and negatively correlated with disease parameters, heading date, and positively with plant height vs. bread wheat. Durum wheat showed a higher disease severity index in the dryer year (2017) vs. 2018 and bread wheat maintained almost the same expression in the two years. In both years, bread wheat varieties were globally more resistant to the disease. For durum wheat, this work underlined the high susceptibility of Salim variety and the ability of certain genotypes to improve their resistance in a wetter year. Besides, the disease induced, almost, the same grain loss in 2017 and 2018, 56 and 52%, respectively on durum wheat. While, for bread wheat, it was lower in the first year (24%) vs. the second one (39%). In conclusion, this work confirmed the susceptibility of durum wheat vs. bread wheat and highlighted the impact of climatic conditions on disease severity and potential yield loss in the Tunisian semi-arid regions.