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Wu et al. (1984) proposed that a gene pool with improved resistance to scab could be developed through recurrent selection by using the single dominant male-sterile gene Ta1 (ms2), and it was expected that superior resistant cultivars integrated with high-yielding capacity or excellent germplasm with improved resistance would be obtained from the improved population. After more than ten years of experiment, the population of the gene pool has been significantly improved in resistance and some new resistant strains with improved resistance and desired agronomic characteristics have been developed jointly by this method and conventional selection (Jiang and Wu 1996). Four resistant genotypes selected from the gene pool and the well-known resistant cultivar Sumai 3 were used to cross with a set of testers and a genetic study was made. The objective of this study was: (1) to evaluate the combining ability of these resistant genotypes; (2) to explore if their resistance can be transmitted to offsprings; and (3) to analyze the relationships between parents, F1's and F2's.


Materials and methods

Host and field trial

Nine winter wheat genotypes with different levels of resistance to scab were selected and a factorial design was adopted to investigate the inheritance of the resistance. Four resistant genotypes TFSL037, Changjiang 8809, W14 and Nantai 7 bred at Nanjing Agricultural University through recurrent selection and conventional selection during the development of scab-resistant gene pool in wheat (Jiang and Wu 1996) and the well-known resistant cultivar Sumai 3 were selected as resistant parents or paternal ones. Four cultivars with different genetic backgrounds from Yangtze River Valley, Yangmai 5, Mianyang 11, Changjiang 8853 and Aiganzao representing high-yielding capacity, early maturity, good quality and from moderate to high susceptibility to scab,' respectively, were used as maternal parents or testers. During 1992-1993, all possible crosses were made in a 4 x 5 factorial design or NCII mating design. In 1993-1994, a field trial including 9 parents, 20 F1's and 20 F2's was established in a 3-replicate randomized block design at Nanjing. Each plot, with the row length of 1.5m and a space of 0.2m, consisted of 1 row for each of parents and F1's and 5 rows for each of F2's. 40 seeds were sown per row.

Assessment of resistance to scab
In general, scab resistance in wheat consists of two components: resistance to initial penetration and resistance to fungal spreading within plant tissue after infection (Schroeder and Christensen 1963), and the expression of resistance is attributable mostly to the latter (Wu 1990). Therefore, the single-floret inoculation was made to evaluate the fungal-spread resistance. The experimental inoculation was conducted by injecting 20 microliter of conidiospore suspension of Fusarium graminearum into a single basipetal floret in the middle part of heads which were to flower or had just flowered.
The concentration of the inoculum was about 1 x104 conidia/ml. About 15 plants for the parent and F1, only one spike per plant, and about 80 plants for the F2 were inoculated per plot, respectively. When the symptoms were clearly identified and the differences between genotypes were quite distinct, head blight, expressed as number of diseased spikelets, was observed 25 days after inoculation. The experimental data were recorded based on the fungal spread and symptoms on the inoculated heads as follows:

0.5:
only inoculated floret showed symptom;
1.O: inoculated spikelet showed symptom;
1.8: one spikelet and the main axis of inoculated spike showed symptom;

2, 3, ..., n: the number of total diseased spikelets on the inoculated spike.

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