Site of Action of Factors for Resistance to Fusarium moniliforme in Maize. Gene E. Scott, Research Agronomist, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State 39762. Stanley B. King, Research Plant Pathologist, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State 39762. Plant Dis. 68:804-806. Accepted for publication 21 March 1984. This article is in the public domain and not copyrightable. It may be freely reprinted with customary crediting of the source. The American Phytopathological Society, 1984. DOI: 10.1094/PD-68-804.

Fusarium moniliforme commonly infects maize (Zea mays) kernels. We investigated which kernel tissue was the site where resistance factor(s) were operative by evaluating the parents and reciprocal F₁, F₂, and backcross generations. Differences were conditioned by the genotype of the pericarp, and the genotype of the endosperm, embryo, or cytoplasm had little, if any, effect on the percentage of kernels infected by F. moniliforme. Thus, selection for resistance should be most efficient when the pericarp is homozygous, such as at the inbred level.