Abstract
Tolerance to the cereal disease Fusarium crown rot (FCR) was investigated in a set of 34 durum wheat genotypes, with Suntop, (bread wheat) and EGA Bellaroi (durum) as tolerant and intolerant controls, in a series of replicated field trials over four years with inoculated (FCR-i) and non-inoculated (FCR-n) plots of the genotypes. The genotypes included con- ventional durum lines and lines derived from crossing durum with 2–49, a bread wheat geno- type with the highest level of partial resistance to FCR. A split plot trial design was chosen to optimize the efficiency for the prediction of FCR tolerance for each genotype. A multi-envi- ronment trial (MET) analysis was undertaken which indicated that there was good repeat- ability of FCR tolerance across years. Based on an FCR tolerance index, Suntop was the most tolerant genotype and EGA Bellaroi was very intolerant, but some durum wheats had FCR tolerance indices which were comparable to Suntop. These included some conven- tional durum genotypes, V101030, TD1702, V11TD013*3X-63 and DBA Bindaroi, as well as genotypes from crosses with 2–49 (V114916 and V114942). The correlation between FCR tolerance and FCR-n yield predictions was moderately negative indicating it could be somewhat difficult to develop FCR-tolerant genotypes that are high yielding under low dis- ease pressure. However, FCR tolerance showed a positive correlation with FCR-i yield pre- dictions in seasons of high disease expression indicating it could be possible to screen for FCR tolerance using only FCR-i treatments. These results are the first demonstration of genetic diversity in durum germplasm for FCR tolerance and they provide a basis for breed- ing for this trait.
Publication Details
Kadkol GP, Meza J, Simpfendorfer S, Harden S, Cullis B (2021) Genetic variation for fusarium crown rot tolerance in durum wheat. PLoS ONE 16(2): e0240766.