Location: Crop Production and Protection
Project Number: 0500-00053-005-242-G
Project Type: Grant
Start Date: May 1, 2026
End Date: Apr 30, 2030
Objective:
1. Develop FHB resistant soft winter wheat cultivars for the northeastern U.S. Evaluate ur elite lines in the FHB Advanced Line nursery.
2. Pyramid FHB resistance genes by hybridizing elite lines with native FHB resistance to exotic sources of FHB resistance.
3. Evaluate FHB resistant lines in New York trials.
4. Participate in the coordinated evaluation of cooperative nurseries.
5. Implement recurrent mass selection in dominant male sterile populations.
6. Participate in the coordinated sharing of information from the above.
Approach:
Our misted field evaluation nursery has the capability to test up to 3000, one-meter row plots. We use a backpack CO2 sprayer to apply a spore suspension 3 to 4 times bracketing the flowering times. A mist irrigation system provides a uniform wetting of the plots. Each plot is scored for incidence and severity approximately 21 days post flowering. Each plot is harvested and sampled for DON analysis and for estimating percent damaged kernels. We collaborate with other wheat breeders to evaluate entries in the Northern Uniform Winter Wheat Scab Nursery. Summary tables and reports are prepared and distributed, and we submit our data to the T3 database.