Abstract
In the present study, 25 durum and 25 bread wheat genotypes were evaluated during 2016 and 2017 for Fusarium head blight (FHB) resistance under greenhouse conditions. FHB severity ranged from 10.33% to 94.20%. Highly significant (p < 0.01) genotypes differences were observed, indicating abundant genetic variability. High broad-sense heritability (0.87) and high genetic advance (70.3%) were obtained for FHB severity, suggesting considerable genetic improvement by selection. Of 50 genotypes tested, 6 genotypes showed <20%, 20 genotypes had >50%, and 24 genotypes showed 20-50% disease severity. The most resistant genotypes were BeniSuef-5, Sohag-3, Ciccio, Svevo, WA-88 and Misr-1 with average FHB severity of 10.84, 11.42, 11.49, 14.09, 16.03 and 18.69%, respectively, suggesting the presence of FHB resistance genes. On average, durum wheat genotypes showed lower FHB severity (39.9%) compared to bread wheat (49.1%). Of 18 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers tested, Xgwm292-5A and Xgwm533-3B could be considered as markers associated with FHB resistance in the tested genotypes. However, further molecular analysis would be performed to confirm their usefulness for marker-assisted selection in wheat breeding programs.