Current status of resistant source to Fusarium head blight disease of wheat: a review

Head blight or head scab of wheat caused by different Fusarium spp. can cause high reduction in yield if environment is favorable for disease development during anthesis stage of crop in northern states of India mainly Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and the Nilgiri hills in Tamil Nadu. Fusarium head blight (FHB) is likely to aggravate due to change in climate and the farmers’ acceptance of minimum tillage for sowing wheat in the northern wheat growing zone of India. Among six Fusarium species isolated from head scab infected samples from Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Tamil Nadu, F. graminearum was identified from maximum number of samples indicating its dominance. Pathogenic and genetic variation was reported among F. graminearum isolates isolated from different wheat growing areas of India. Most of the studies revealed that resistance to head scab is governed by 2–5 genes. Components of resistance have been classified into five types based on the different phenotypes associated with the disease. Most of wheat varieties presently cultivated in India are susceptible to F. graminearum, main dominating pathogen causing head scab. Due to the complex nature of pathogen, it is very difficult to control the disease. Wheat genotype Sumai 3 and Ning 7840 are very important resistant sources for FHB and have been used worldwide in different wheat crop improvement programs. Many researchers have mapped QTLs for FHB resistance in different resistant sources. Information available on resistant sources in wheat and its wild relatives have been reviewed so that breeders can use suitable sources to incorporate resistance in adopted cultivars of wheat against FHB disease.