Methodology of Resistance Testing and Breeding Against Fusarium Head Blight in Wheat and Results of the Selection

The FHB is a disease that appears irregularly in most wheat producing area. Therefore artificial inoculation tests are needed to breed effectively for resistance. It is easy to produce symptoms under artificial inoculation conditions. However, their meaning is often not clear. Many possible methodical problems should be considered to have a data basis for solid conclusions. High level of resistance in winter wheat can be achieved by using spring wheat sources or winter wheat genotypes. Our program has breeding results in both directions. It is not enough to determine only the FHB reaction. Yield, kernel infection and DON response should also be considered. They can deliver additional information on the nature of resistance, as tolerance, DON resistance or kernel infection resistance that are of high importance to choose the best of the mostly susceptible commercial genotypes grown now on millions of hectares.