INVITRO TECHNIQUES FOR SELECTING WHEAT (TRITICUM-AESTIVUM L) FOR FUSARIUM-RESISTANCE .1. DOUBLE-LAYER CULTURE TECHNIQUE

Calluses of spring and winter wheats (Triticum aestivum L.) were selected for Fusarium resistance in vitro, using the double-layer culture technique. Potato-dextrose agar medium in vials was inoculated with mycelia of Fusarium graminearum and F. culmorum. After one week, fungal cells were killed by autoclaving and the agar medium containing the thermostable toxic metabolites was overlayered with MS callus-growing medium. Later, wheat calluses were placed on the upper medium for 4-5 weeks, and from the surviving calluses plants were regenerated. R2 seedling populations from self-fertilized R1 plants of 4 varieties were tested for Fusarium resistance by artificial infections in the greenhouse, and 3% of the regenerated R2 plants have been found to be more resistant than the original cultivars.