Fusarium Head Blight Resistance in F1 Hybrid Hard Red Spring Wheat

Abstract

Due to scientific advancement, hybrid wheat may be the future of wheat breeding, but many questions about the hybrid system remain. How hybrids will perform in terms of Fusarium head blight (FHB) resistance is one of the most important. It is unknown if a hybrid produced from a resistant by susceptible cross will express acceptable levels. This experiment tested hybrids produced from four resistant parents crossed with a common susceptible parent. Genotype was a significant effect for all traits measured. Hybrids were usually different than one or both parents. Resistance levels showed numerical increase with additional resistance genes. All hybrids were more similar to their respective resistant parent with percent similar ranging from 57-110% depending on parameter. This suggests that additive effects may play a role in hybrid wheat breeding and that incomplete dominance allows for production of hybrids using one FHB resistant parent.