Testing snow mould resistance of winter wheat:: Inoculation experiments with Microdochium nivale in the field

Winter survival of 24 winter wheat lines was evaluated at three locations in south-eastern Norway in 1996-97 and 1997-98. Plants were inoculated with a mycelial suspension of Microdochium nivale or a preparation of M. nivale mycelium grown on boiled wheat grains, or they remained uninoculated. Artificially applied inoculum led to a higher disease pressure in some of the trials only. The effect of environmental conditions on variation in winter survival among wheat lines was greater than that of inoculation, and it was therefore difficult to draw a definite conclusion on the variation in specific snow mould resistance.