Influence of Wheat Cultivar, Species of Fusarium, and Isolate Aggressiveness on the Efficacy of Fungicides for Control of Fusarium Head Blight
Abstract
Attempts to control Fusarium head blight (FHB) with fungicides have been highly variable. Variability is caused by cultivar resistance, fungicide efficacy, fungicide coverage, timing, and pathogen aggressiveness. In this research, fungicides were tested on winter wheat cultivars with different levels of resistance to FHB using different isolates of Fusarium graminearum and F. culmorum to evaluate the role of host resistance and isolate aggressiveness on severity of FHB. Fungicides were applied to groups of wheat heads to provide full coverage. Incidence and severity of FHB was measured by the severity of head symptoms, percentage of Fusarium-damaged kernels (FDK), yield loss, and deoxynivalenol (DON) contamination. Development of FHB was affected by fungicides, cultivars, fungal isolates, and most of the two-way interactions of these variables. Among the fungicides tested, those containing tebuconazole tended to be more effective in reducing FHB. Reduction of disease in susceptible cultivars may not be adequate to produce marketable yields under conditions of high disease pressure. In most cases, if a fungicide reduced FHB visual symptoms, similar decreases were detected in yield loss, DON concentration, and FDK reaction. In 19...Continue Reading
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