Outsmarting wheat disease

In an effort to combat the devastating fusarium fungus, wheats with improved resistance have been identified using a new rapid screening technique. 

Fusarium fungus causes both Crown Rot, which costs the Australian wheat industry $50 million in lost yields every year, and Head Blight, which seriously affects grain quality in northern Australia.

CSIRO's new rapid screening method has been used to test over 150 wheat lines and varieties and is progressively testing new lines from Australia, Mexico, Japan, Korea, India, Pakistan and China.

To test the wheat, seedlings are grown in tiny pots for ten days then administered a dose of fusarium.

Over the following month measurements are taken to record the amount of damage caused by the fusarium and the rate of infection.

This is much quicker than conventional field-based screening methods which require the wheat to be grown over a full season of up to eight months.

One of the most promising candidates so far is a wheat line from Japan which demonstrated excellent fusarium resistance.

This and other lines will be tested in the field to confirm their resistance.

'Enemy intelligence' is also being gathered about the different fusarium strains. When coupled with the identification of resistant wheats, this will help breed the most effective fusarium resistant wheat varieties in the future.

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