The infection of wheat by Fusarium head scab in the Krasnodar territory and northern Caucasus has been documented since the 1930s. However, it was found sporadically and chiefly in the piedmont zone. Therefore, no purposeful research for breeding of varieties resistant to this pathogen were undertaken. The spread of Fusarium and its damage to the wheat crop have considerably increased since 1985. The heaviest grain losses were observed in 1987, 1988, and 1992, when epidemics occurred. To determine effective ways to control this disease, it is important elucidate the spread and epidemiology of the disease. The main reason was the change in the environment of the wheat crop after the introduction of intensive agriculture. The application of pesticide against rusts, powdery mildew, and Septoria has enabled the evolution of the Fusarium fungus. Requiring significant application of mainly nitric fertilizers, the introduction of dwarf and semidwarf varieties has resulted in more vulnerable crops. An increase in the average annual precipitation, abundant rainfall, and warm damp weather during flowering and grain-fill is conducive to the growth of epiphytotic fungi. The evolutionary level of Fusarium head scab was estimated by evaluating the tolerance of varieties, their reaction to amount of fertilization, the time of sowing time, forecrops, and tilling methods (Zazimko and Gonik 1992). An increase in the number of epidemics and degree of damage by the disease have increased the necessity of protecting the wheat crop against the fungus. Uncontrollable weather and the low efficiency, high cost, and ecological danger of fungicide applications have necessitated that this problem be addressed by breeding programs. Much research for resistance to Fusarium head scab in the Krasnodar environment has been made on regional varieties, donors, and other sources of resistance to the pathogen. In the near future, it will be necessary no only to base breeding programs on effective resistance genes, but on high-yielding varieties with high adaptability to the complex of abiotic and biotic factors of the environment and high field tolerance to F. graminearum. In this article, we describe the approaches to the breeding of these varieties by the traditional, selection methods used at the Krasnodar Research Institute of Agriculture.
展开▼
