Identification of three new resources of resistance to Fusarium head blight in wheat

Fusarium head blight (FHB) mainly caused by Fusarium species is one of the most important diseases threatening worldwide wheat production. To develop new FHB resistance resources, disease resistances of three new wheat lines L958, L962 and L987 were evaluated over a period of several years. We employed L699 (PI672540) and L661 as the resistant and susceptible control, respectively. Moderate FHB resistance was observed in these three wheat lines, among which the genotype L958 was found a good resource for yield, quality and FHB resistance improvement. In addition, genotype L962 was found to be resistant to powdery mildew, and both L958 and L987 carried the YrL693 gene conferring stripe rust resistance. The study provides promising results for accelerating the resistance breeding of the three wheat lines.