Creation of Huaimai 33 fusarium head blight resistant mutants by EMS mutation

【Objective】The purpose of the study was to create new fusarium head blight（FHB） resistant materials in the Huanghuai wheat region，and to provide parents for FHB resistant breeding in this region.【Method】Ethyl methane sulfonate（EMS）was used to create Huaimai 33 mutant population. FHB resistance identification was carried to screen mutants with significantly increased resistance in early generations（M₂ and M₃）by single floret drip method. After the generations were stabilized（M₄）， the target materials were analyzed for agronomic and quality traits， and new FHB resistant materials whose agronomic traits and quality indexes could meet the breeding needs in the Huanghuai wheat region were screened.【Result】The results of FHB resistance identification showed that there were 73 spike rows of M₂ generation exhibiting resistance-susceptibility segregation. Resistance verification was conducted in M₃ generation，and 17 mutants with greatly improved FHB resistance（average severity≤3.10）were finally screened，8 of which reached the level of moderate resistance（1.45＜average severity≤2.55）， and 9 of which were at the level of moderate susceptibility（2.55＜average severity≤3.10）. In M₄ generation，the results of agronomic traits survey showed that there were 4 mutants with extremely significant shorter plant height（P＜0.01，the same below），1 mutant with significant increase in the number of spikes per plant（P＜0.05，the same below），1 mutant with extremely significant increase in the number of kernels in a spike，8 mutants with extremely significant increase in the weight of 1000 grains，and 2 mutants with significant increase in yield. The identification of quality-related traits showed that some materials were significantly different from Huaimai 33，2 excellent mutants with quality indexes significantly improved（strong-glutent type）and 1 excellent mutant with significantly decreased indexes（weak-glutent type）were screened.【Conclusion】With the starting point of breeding application，a number of new germplasms with significantly improved FHB resistance and agronomic traits meeting the breeding needs have been created，which can be used as parental materials for the selection of FHB resistant varieties in the Huanghuai wheat region.