Network: Wheat Disease Resistance Identification of Molecular Markers Linked to Fusarium Head Blight (Scab) Resistance Genes in Wheat

At least seventeen different Fusarium spp. associated with head blight have been found worldwide. In India, Fusarium head blight occurs all along the wheat growing Himalayan belt up to a height of 1500 meters. Farmers in these areas depend on rainfed wheat for their household consumption and use it as a seed stock for the next season. Since the disease has appeared only occasionally so far, it has not been attended by organised research groups. However, the alarming development of the disease in the past few years makes it necessary to tackle this problem. Some of the disease prone areas are incidentally high productivity areas, which produce surplus grain to sustain the public distribution system, ensuring the availability of wheat at a cheaper price for poor people.