Location: Crop Production and Protection
Project Number: 0500-00053-005-232-G
Project Type: Grant
Start Date: May 1, 2026
End Date: Apr 30, 2030
Objective:
This proposal advances Fusarium head blight phenotyping nurseries to deliver precise resistance data for wheat producers and breeders. Replicated, mist-irrigated, inoculated field trials will quantify disease progression, kernel damage, and DON levels, improving selection efficiency and accelerating development of hard winter wheat cultivars with durable FHB resistance across regional environments.
Approach:
Establish replicated, randomized FHB nurseries at Manhattan, Kansas using mist irrigation and staggered inoculations with aggressive Fusarium graminearum isolates. Evaluate regional, private, commercial, and breeding entries with standard checks. Rate disease progression, analyze AUDPS/ANOVA, and assess FDK and DON. Integrate imaging and fungicide-response trials to enhance selection and management strategies.