Pathogenicity assessment of Fusarium clavum associated with wheat head blight in Algeria

english

2025

volume 121, issue 2

Algeria   durum wheat   Fusarium clavum   pathogenicity

Univerza v Ljubljani, Biotehniška fakulteta
(Obvezni izvod spletne publikacije)

Durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf ) is one of the most important cereal crops in Algeria. During the agricultural season 2021-2022, typical symptoms of Fusarium Head Blight were observed in wheat fields in the Setif region. One of the causal agents was identified on the basis of morphological characters and DNA sequences as Fusarium clavum J.W. Xia, L. Lombard, Sand.-Den., X.G. Zhang & Crous, a member of the Fusarium incarnatum-equiseti species complex. It was isolated from symptomatic wheat glumes. In vitro and in vivo pathogenicity tests were conducted on three Algerian durum wheat varieties to assess the effect of this isolate on the seedling and the mass of durum wheat kernels. The results showed that Fusarium clavum caused a significant reduction in the coleoptile (38.9 %) and root length (42 %) and decreased kernels mass by 20.8 %. This study further confirms the presence of Fusarium clavum as an agent causing Fusarium Head Blight on wheat in Algeria.

19.01.2026