Comparison of field and laboratory Fusarium head blight ratings in wheat infected with Fusarium graminearum Schwabe

The aim of the investigation was to compare visual rating index (VRI) in the field and visually scabby kernels (VSK) in laboratory conditions for 23 winter wheat genotypes under conditions of artificial infection with Fusarium graminearum Schw. Significant differences in resistance degree of the tested wheat genotypes were obtained for both rating methods of Fusarium head blight. High and significant correlation coefficients were obtained among the VSK scores of the three different evaluators and among the three VRI rating times. Relatively high correlation coefficients found between VRI and VSK ratings are in favour of the faster VSK method, which can also be used for evaluating wheat samples infection in commercial production and in monitoring.