FHB Resistance of winter wheat from Canada and Europe estimated across multi-environments after inoculation with two deoxynivalenol producing Fusarium species

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a serious problem in many wheat-growing areas worldwide. The breeding and cultivation of resistant wheat cultivars is the most promising strategy to reduce the risk of FHB. We report on the comparison of 20 Canadian and 20 European genotypes for FHB response and associated traits (deoxynivalenol content, Fusarium damaged kernels, plant height, heading date) in multi-environmental field trials in Canada and Germany after artificial inoculation with Fusarium culmorum (Germany) / F. graminearum (Canada). Our study revealed Canadian and European wheat lines that were stable in performance across countries and which therefore appear as valuable FHB resistance donors in Canadian as well as in German wheat breeding programs to further improve the resistance level of wheat cultivars against FHB.