Location: Crop Production and Protection
Project Number: 0500-00053-005-231-G
Project Type: Grant
Start Date: May 1, 2026
End Date: Apr 30, 2030
Objective:
FHB and associated DON contamination are persistent, high-impact constraints for small grain production. This integrated effort combines (i) field-based resistance screening and variety evaluation in barley, (ii) geneticsenabled discovery and deployment of wheat susceptibility-factor targets, and (iii) integrated management trials and forecasting-model support to deliver practical, durable solutions for growers.
Approach:
Field trials will be conducted at UMD Beltsville (artificially inoculated, misted nursery) and Wye (natural infection). NABSEN barley lines and Mid-Atlantic commercial varieties will be evaluated for their FHB indices and DON content in replicated head rows/plots. In wheat, resistant deletion mutants in Jagger will be mapped using sequencing/MutMap, and candidate susceptibility genes will be validated using TILLING and multiplex genome editing, accelerated by speed breeding. Integrated fungicide programs (including new combinations) will be tested and linked to forecasting and economic analyses.