Effects of genotype and genotype x environment interaction on deoxynivalenol accumulation and resistance to Fusarium head blight in rye, triticale, and wheat

Publikations-Art

Zeitschriftenbeitrag

Autoren

Miedaner, T.; Reinbrecht, C.; Lauber, U.; Schollenberger, M. and Geiger, H.H.

Erscheinungsjahr

2001

Veröffentlicht in

Plant Breeding

Band/Volume

120/

Seite (von - bis)

97-105

Fusarium culmorum causes head blight in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), rye (Secale cereale L.), and triticale (x Triticosecale Wittmack) and produces mycotoxins like deoxynivalenol (DON), 3-acetyl deoxynivalenol (3-ADON), and nivalenol (NIV). We analysed the effect of cereal species, host genotype, and environment on DON accumulation and Fusarium head blight (FHB) by inoculating 12 rye, 8 wheat, and 6 triticale genotypes of different resistance levels with a DON-producing isolate at three locations in two years (six environments). Seven resistance traits were assessed, among them head blight rating and relative plot yield, and ergosterol, DON, and 3-ADON contents in the grain were determined. Although rye genotypes were, on average, similarly affected by Fusarium infections as wheat genotypes, wheat accumulated twice as much DON than rye. Triticale was least affected and the grain contained slightly more DON than rye. Triticale was least susceptible with a 5 times lower DON content than wheat. Significant (P=0.01) genotypic variation for DON accumulation existed in wheat and rye. Strong genotype x environment interactions were found for all cereal species. This was mainly due to three wheat varieties and one rye genotype environmentally extremely instable. The more resistant entries, however, showed a higher environmental stability of FHB resistance and tolerance to DON accumulation. Correlations between resistance traits and DON content were high in wheat (P=0.01), with the most resistant varieties also less DON accumulating, but variable in rye. In conclusion, the medium to large genotypic variation in wheat and rye offers good chances for reducing DON content in the grains by resistance selection. Large confounding effects caused by environment deserves multiple locations and/or years for evaluating FHB resistance and mycotoxin accumulation.