Authors: Meriem Aoun 1, Jessica Rupp 2, Guihua Bai 3, Amanda de Oliveira Silva 4, Ming-Shun Chen 3, Yuanhong Richard Chen 5, Katherine Brower 6, Robert M. Hunger 1, and Brett F. Carver 4
1. Dep. of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Oklahoma State Univ., Stillwater, OK 74078, USA
2. Dep. of Plant Pathology, Kansas State Univ., Manhattan, KS 66506, USA
3. USDA–ARS, Hard Winter Wheat Genetics Research Unit, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA
4. Dep. of Plant and Soil Sciences, Oklahoma State Univ., Stillwater, OK 74078, USA
5. USDA–ARS, Grain Quality and Structure Research Unit, Manhattan, KS 66502, USA
6. Innovation and Quality Lab, Kansas Wheat Innovation Center, Manhattan, KS 66502, USA
Corresponding Author: Brett F. Carver, brett.carver@okstate.edu
Presenting Author: Meriem Aoun
Abstract
Fusarium head blight (FHB), caused primarily by the fungus Fusarium graminearum Schwabe, is one of the most destructive diseases of wheat in humid and semi-humid regions globally. In the U.S. Great Plains, only two contemporary hard red winter wheat (HRWW) cultivars, ‘Everest’ and ‘Zenda’ are moderately resistant to FHB. However, none of the HRWW cultivars currently grown in the region carry Fhb1, the most effective gene with a major effect on FHB resistance. The main objective of this project was to release an Fhb1-carrying HRWW cultivar adapted to FHB-prone areas in Oklahoma. OK16103083 was an experimental line selected from a series of recurrent backcross progeny of Garrison*3/WesleyFhb1-106 by the Oklahoma State University (OSU) wheat breeding program. Progenies were developed from the marker-assisted backcrossing project by USDA Small Grains Genotyping Lab with support from the US Wheat and Barley Scab Initiative. OK16103083, named ‘Scab Stryker’, has similar agronomic traits to its parent, Garrison, but carries Fhb1 for FHB resistance. Scab Stryker was evaluated in four yield trials in Oklahoma from 2018 to 2023 and for FHB resistance in the hard winter wheat FHB nursery, Manhattan KS from 2020 to 2023. The FHB nursery was arranged in a randomized complete block design with four replicates. The entries included in this nursery were experimental lines or recently released cultivars from breeding programs in the HWW-CAP project. Overley (FHB susceptible), Everest (FHB moderately resistant), and the OSU HRWW cultivar, ‘OK Corral’, with putative field tolerance to natural FHB infection in eastern Oklahoma were used as checks in the FHB nursery. Scab Stryker was ranked in the middle of the contemporary HRWW gene pool for grain yield and test weight in the yield trials but exhibited an exceptionally high level of FHB resistance in the FHB trials. Among 35 entries including check cultivars, Scab Stryker always produced lower area under disease progress steps (AUDPS) values across the four years from 2020 through 2023, which were significantly lower than those for Everest. The later heading date and taller stature of Scab Stryker possibly boosted the effectiveness of Fhb1. To our knowledge, FHB resistance of Scab Stryker is strong and unsurpassed by any currently available HRWW cultivar. Scab Stryker was released in 2024 and is currently the only commercial U.S. Great Plains HWW which carries the resistance gene Fhb1.
Disclaimer
This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Wheat & Barley Scab Initiative.