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SESSION 4: GENETICS OF HOSTS – PLANT RESISTANCE TO FUSARIUM,
VARIETY DEVELOPMENT
Progress in breeding FHB-resistant winter wheat in
Ontario, Canada
L. Tamburic-Ilincic
University of Guelph, Ridgetown Campus, 120 Main St. E. Ridgetown, Ontario, N0P2C0, Canada
E-mail: ltamburi@uoguelph.ca
Fusarium head blight (FHB) is an important wheat disease. Selection for FHB
resistance and lower deoxynivalenol (DON) content in the grain continue to be
important goal for breeders worldwide. We have used exotic sources of FHB
resistance and native sources from North America and developed germplasm with
high level of FHB resistance and moderately resistant winter wheat cultivars
adapted to Ontario. The most resistant germplasm from our program was tested
in USA and Germany over years and had stable performance across all
environments.
A winter wheat population consisted of 147 RILs derived from a cross between
‘RCATL33’ (resistance from ‘Sumai 3’ and ‘Frontana’) and ‘RC Strategy’ (a FHB
susceptible, elite soft red winter wheat) was developed to study the effect of
single major QTLs for FHB resistance (3B, 5A and 3A) on yield, agronomic and
quality parameters. Lines in the 3B QTL class had the lowest FHB index, DON
content and FDK level, headed early and did not have a significantly lower yield or
protein content compared to the lines grouped in other QTL classes. Markerassisted
selection (MAS), using SSR markers associated with the 3B QTL for
FHB resistance, in high-yielding, FHB-susceptible Canadian soft winter wheat is
the recommended method for the development of lines with increased FHB
resistance without significant yield and quality penalties.
All wheat commercially grown in Ontario is entered in the Performance Trial and
tested every year for FHB resistance and DON level in three nurseries inoculated
with F. graminearum. Using all available data, each cultivar is assigned to a
category that describes level of FHB resistance (highly susceptible-HS,
susceptible-S, moderately susceptible-MS, and moderately resistant-MR) based
on an index that combines both FHB symptoms and DON level. Results related to
progress in winter wheat development in Ontario, with respect to FHB resistance,
will be presented.
Keywords: Fusarium, wheat, resistance
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