Mist irrigation of wheat lines being grown as part of CIMMYT’s screening program for resistance to Fusarium head blight (FHB), also known as scab, on an experimental plot at the center’s headquarters at El Batán, Mexico. The plants are inoculated with Fusarium graminearum (teleomorph Gibberella zeae) and the additional moisture encourages the growth of the pathogen. CIMMYT screens several thousand lines for FHB resistance every year. Resistant materials are the result of ongoing breeding efforts, and may be used further in CIMMYT’s breeding program or enter international nurseries like the Fusarium head blight screening nursery (FHBSN).
Photo credit: Janet Lewis/CIMMYT.