Isolated and Diagnose of some Fusarium Species Causing Head Blight in Wheat in the Southern Region of Iraq

The survey results conducted in the fields of Basrah, Maysan, and Thi Qar provinces showed varying infection rates of the wheat stripe rust disease. The highest infection rate of Basrah was recorded in Qurna at 59.12%, while the lowest was in Nushwa at 48.37% in Basrah province. In Maysan province, the highest rate was in Qamit at 65.45%, and the lowest was in Qal’at Salih at 39.88%. In Thi Qar province, the highest rate was in Qal’at Sukkar at 30.71%, and the lowest was in Al-Gharraf area at 27.04%. Isolation confirmed the pathogenicity of the fungi Fusarium pseudograminearum, F.graminearum, F. boothii , and F. culmorum from wheat plants. F. boothi is considered the first recorded registration of its kind on wheat in Iraq, and the diagnosis of isolated fungi was confirmed by molecular diagnosis using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) technique. All fungi showed the ability to infect wheat with head blight disease.