Response of some cultivars of spring spelt (Triticum spelta) to Fusarium culmorum infection

Abstract

Summary Five spring spelt (Triticum spelta) and two common wheat (T. aestivum) cultivars were examined for their response to Fusarium culmorum infection of heads and germinating kernels. In all objects inoculation significantly depressed values of the yield components analyzed: kernel weight, and kernel number per head and thousand kernel weight. Kernels from the control heads contained from 0.01 to 0.9 μg·g -1 deoxynivalenol whereas under artificial inoculation, the DON content of spelt kernels ranged from 33.7 to 108.4 μg·g -1 compared to 32.5 and 57.1 μg·g -1 in common wheat kernels. Germinating kernels and seedlings of T. spelta were characterized by better resistance to the infection relative to either of the two wheat cultivars.