AUTHOR=Jones Stephen , Farooqi Arifa , Foulkes John , Sparkes Debbie L. , Linforth Robert , Ray Rumiana V. 

TITLE=Canopy and Ear Traits Associated With Avoidance of Fusarium Head Blight in Wheat

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2018

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2018.01021

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2018.01021

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>Doubled haploid and elite wheat genotypes were ground inoculated in three field experiments and head spray inoculated in two glasshouse experiments, using mixed <italic>Fusarium</italic> and <italic>Microdochium</italic> species, to identify crop canopy and ear traits associated with Fusarium head blight (FHB) disease. In all experiments, flag leaf length and tiller number were consistently identified as the most significant canopy traits contributing to progression of FHB caused by <italic>Fusarium graminearum, F. culmorum</italic>, and <italic>F. avenaceum</italic>. The influence of ear traits was greater for <italic>F. poae</italic> that may possess more diverse routes for transmission and spread. Consistently, spikelet density was associated with increased disease severity in the field. <italic>F. graminearum, F. culmorum</italic>, and <italic>F. langsethiae</italic> were the main mycotoxin producers and their respective toxins were significantly related to fungal biomass and number of spikelets per ear. Genotypes with lower tiller numbers, shorter flag leaves and less dense ears may be able to avoid FHB disease caused by <italic>F. graminearum, F. culmorum, F. avenaceum</italic>, or <italic>Microdochium</italic> species however selection for these canopy and ear architectural traits to enable disease avoidance in wheat is likely to result in a potential trade-off with grain yield and therefore only moderately advantageous in susceptible genotypes.</p>