Screening Winter Wheat Germplasm for Fusarium Head Blight Resistance

58 winter wheat breeding lines and 4 widely popularized varieties in Huaihe River wheat production regions of Anhui were used to screen resistant germplasms to Fusarium head blight. Incidence, disease index, percentage of infected kernels and DON content in the kernels were measured for each variety or line following artificial inoculation of Fusarium spp. pathogens. Reactions of wheat to Fusarium infection varied among genotypes and different types of resistance. The incidence of infection for each variety or line highly correlated to the severity of colonization after infection. DON content was more correlated to the percentage of kernels infected than to the overall incidence or severity. The selected control varieties were all susceptible to FHB, while seven breeding lines demonstrated good resistant performance. New FHB resistant winter wheat varieties appealing to the actual needs are expected from them.