In vitro assessment of Fusarium head blight spp. on wheat cultivars

Aggressiveness in four isolates of Fusarium head blight (FHB) species (F. culmorum, F. solani, F. verticillioides and F. equiesti) was studied in vitro on six wheat cultivars using a modified Petri-dish test. Results showed differences between cultivars inoculated with FHB isolates and control for three aggressiveness criteria: germination rate reduction, standardised area under disease progress curve (AUDPC_standard), and coleoptile length reduction. Regarding AUDPC_standard and Petri-dish aggressiveness index, significant differences were detected among fungal isolates. The other two aggressiveness criteria: germination rate reduction and coleoptile length reduction did not distinguish between FHB isolates. The Petri-dish test was repeatable and stable method to assess aggressiveness of four FHB species for all tested wheat cultivars. The current study confirmed the suitability of in vitro modified Petri-dish method to be used as fast and reliable test to analyse aggressiveness in FHB species.