Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
European Journal of Plant Pathology, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
Fusarium culmorum, a soilborne fungus, is considered to be one of the main causal agents of crown and root rot in all wheat growing continents, but its stem base and root infections in spring wheat have not been well-documented. This study phenotypically characterized the resistance of 25 spring wheat cultivars to F. culmorum and examined the wheat-F. culmorum interaction by considering five agronomic traits (plant height, root dry weight, spike length, grain yield and whitehead formation). The experiments were set up using the soil inoculation technique in a greenhouse over two consecutive years. Reaction types were established based on the lesion lengths on the lower stems. Compared to the controls, significant (P < 0.01) reductions were detected in root dry weight (46.00%), grain weight (41.60%), plant height (8.9%) and spike length (7.57%). The rate of whitehead formation (a symptom of the disease) ranged from 8.03 to 21.52% among the cultivars. Of the 25 spring wheat cultivars tested, three reaction types (moderately resistant, susceptible and very susceptible) were established. The disease quantifying parameter (lesion length) significantly (P < 0.01) and positively correlated with reductions in the examined agronomic traits. To our knowledge, this is the first detailed phenotyping of resistance to F. culmorum in spring wheat. These findings deepen our understanding of wheat - pathogen interactions and provide a framework for quantifying resistance to crown and root rot pathogens.