Timing of Susceptibility to Fusarium Head Blight in Winter Wheat

The duration of wheat susceptibility to Fusarium infection has implications for risk forecasting, fungicide timing, and the likelihood that visible kernel damage may underpredict deoxynivalenol (DON) contamination. A field experiment was conducted to explore the impact of varying infection timings on Fusarium head blight (FHB) development in winter wheat. Trials in four successive years (2010 to 2013) in North Carolina utilized one susceptible and one moderately resistant cultivar possessing similar maturity, stature, and grain quality. Inoculum was applied in the form of sprayed Fusarium graminearum conidia. In the first year, the nine infection timings were from 0 to 21 days after anthesis (daa), whereas in the following 3 years, they ranged from 0 to 13 daa. Infection progression was compared among inoculation timings by sampling spikes five to six times during grain-fill. Based on DON, percent kernel damage and kernel infection, and fungal spread as assayed via qPCR, the moderately resistant cultivar had at least a 2- to 3-day shorter window of susceptibility to damaging FHB infection than the susceptible cultivar. The results suggest that duration of susceptibility is an important aspect of cultivar resistance to FHB. In 2012, the window of susceptibility for both cultivars was extended by cold snaps during anthesis. After debranning in one year, the majority of DON was found to be in the bran fraction of kernels; there was also a trend for later infections to lead to a higher percentage of DON in the nonbran fraction, as well as a higher ratio of DON to FDK.

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Effects of Integrating Cultivar Resistance and Fungicide Application on Fusarium Head Blight and Deoxynivalenol in Winter Wheat

Plant Disease ◽

10.1094/pdis-07-10-0495 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 95 (5) ◽

pp. 554-560 ◽

Cited By ~ 69

Author(s):

Stephen N. Wegulo ◽

William W. Bockus ◽

John Hernandez Nopsa ◽

Erick D. De Wolf ◽

Kent M. Eskridge ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Winter Wheat ◽

Fusarium Head Blight ◽

Field Experiments ◽

Economic Losses ◽

Cultivar Resistance ◽

Head Blight ◽

Resistant Cultivars ◽

Fungicide Application ◽

Fungicide Efficacy ◽

Moderately Resistant

Fusarium head blight (FHB) or scab, incited by Fusarium graminearum, can cause significant economic losses in small grain production. Five field experiments were conducted from 2007 to 2009 to determine the effects on FHB and the associated mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON) of integrating winter wheat cultivar resistance and fungicide application. Other variables measured were yield and the percentage of Fusarium-damaged kernels (FDK). The fungicides prothioconazole + tebuconazole (formulated as Prosaro 421 SC) were applied at the rate of 0.475 liters/ha, or not applied, to three cultivars (experiments 1 to 3) or six cultivars (experiments 4 and 5) differing in their levels of resistance to FHB and DON accumulation. The effect of cultivar on FHB index was highly significant (P < 0.0001) in all five experiments. Under the highest FHB intensity and no fungicide application, the moderately resistant cultivars Harry, Heyne, Roane, and Truman had less severe FHB than the susceptible cultivars 2137, Jagalene, Overley, and Tomahawk (indices of 30 to 46% and 78 to 99%, respectively). Percent fungicide efficacy in reducing index and DON was greater in moderately resistant than in susceptible cultivars. Yield was negatively correlated with index, with FDK, and with DON, whereas index was positively correlated with FDK and with DON, and FDK and DON were positively correlated. Correlation between index and DON, index and FDK, and FDK and DON was stronger in susceptible than in moderately resistant cultivars, whereas the negative correlation between yield and FDK and yield and DON was stronger in moderately resistant than in susceptible cultivars. Overall, the strongest correlation was between index and DON (0.74 ≤ R ≤ 0.88, P ≤ 0.05). The results from this study indicate that fungicide efficacy in reducing FHB and DON was greater in moderately resistant cultivars than in susceptible ones. This shows that integrating cultivar resistance with fungicide application can be an effective strategy for management of FHB and DON in winter wheat.

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Fusarium ratings in Ontario winter wheat performance trial (OWWPT) using an index that combines Fusarium head blight symptoms and deoxynivalenol levels

Czech Journal of Genetics and Plant Breeding ◽

10.17221/3265-cjgpb ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 47 (Special Issue) ◽

pp. S115-S122 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

L. Tamburic-Ilincic ◽

D. Falk ◽

A. Schaafsma

Keyword(s):

Winter Wheat ◽

Fusarium Head Blight ◽

Triticum Aestivum L ◽

Wheat Breeding ◽

Head Blight ◽

Sources Of Resistance ◽

Selection Decisions ◽

Grain Yield And Quality ◽

Moderately Resistant ◽

Performance Trial

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is one of the most serious diseases of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). FHB reduces grain yield and quality, and the fungus produces mycotoxins, such as deoxynivalenol (DON). The most practical way to control FHB is through the development of resistant cultivars. In addition to exotic sources of resistance (such as cultivars Sumai 3 and Frontana), native sources of resistance are commonly used in winter wheat breeding programs in North America. In 1996, 2000, and 2004 severe epidemics of FHB cost the winter wheat industry in Ontario, Canada combined over $200 million. All wheat grown in Ontario is entered in the Ontario Winter Wheat Performance Trial (OWWPT) and tested every year for Fusarium resistance and DON level in three inoculated FHB nurseries. The objective of this study is to explain how the index that accounts for FHB symptoms and DON level jointly was developed, and how stable the performance of the cultivars grouped to susceptibility classes has been over a number of years. The index is related to Fusarium susceptibility classes (moderately resistant – MR, moderately susceptible – MS, susceptible – S and highly susceptible – HS), robust, stable, open-ended (old cultivars out, new cultivars in) and useful to farmers in making cultivars selection decisions. This information is available to growers and industry through the website www.gocereals.ca.

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A Quantitative Review of Tebuconazole Effect on Fusarium Head Blight and Deoxynivalenol Content in Wheat

Phytopathology ◽

10.1094/phyto-97-2-0211 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 97 (2) ◽

pp. 211-220 ◽

Cited By ~ 72

Author(s):

P. A. Paul ◽

P. E. Lipps ◽

D. E. Hershman ◽

M. P. McMullen ◽

M. A. Draper ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Winter Wheat ◽

Fusarium Head Blight ◽

Spring Wheat ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Head Blight ◽

Quantitative Review ◽

Untreated Check ◽

The Mean ◽

Using Data ◽

The Impact

A meta-analysis of the effect of tebuconazole (e.g., Folicur 3.6F) on Fusarium head blight and deoxynivalenol (DON) content of wheat grain was performed using data collected from uniform fungicide trials (UFTs) conducted at multiple locations across U.S. wheat-growing regions. Response ratios (mean disease and DON levels from tebuconazole-treated plots, divided by mean disease and DON levels from untreated check plots) were calculated for each of 139 studies for tebuconazole effect on Fusarium head blight index (IND; field or plot-level disease severity, i.e., mean proportion of diseased spikelets per spike) and 101 studies for tebuconazole effect on DON contamination of harvested grain. A random-effects meta-analysis was performed on the log-transformed ratios, and the estimated mean log ratios were transformed to estimate the mean (expected) percent control for IND ( CIND ) and DON ( CDON). A mixed effects meta-analysis was then done to determine the effects of wheat type (spring versus winter wheat) and disease and DON levels in the controls on the log ratios. Tebuconazole was more effective at limiting IND than DON, with CIND and CDON values of 40.3 and 21.6%, respectively. The efficacy of tebuconazole as determined by the impact on both IND and DON was greater in spring wheat than in winter wheat (P < 0.01), with a 13.2% higher CIND and a 12.4% higher CDON in spring wheat than in winter wheat. In general, CIND and CDON were both at their lowest values (and not significantly different from 0) when mean IND and DON in the controls, respectively, were low (≤2% for IND and <1 ppm for DON). CIND was 25% higher in studies with mean IND between 2 and 15% than in studies with mean IND ≤ 2%, whereas CDON was 28.8% higher in studies with mean DON between 1 and 10 ppm than in studies with mean DON < 1 ppm. The between-study variance was significantly greater than 0 (P < 0.01), indicating considerable (unexplained) variability in percent control.

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Marker soft red winter wheat

Canadian Journal of Plant Science ◽

10.4141/cjps-2015-063 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 95 (5) ◽

pp. 1029-1031 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Lily Tamburic-Ilincic ◽

Arend Smid

Keyword(s):

Triticum Aestivum ◽

Winter Wheat ◽

Grain Yield ◽

Fusarium Head Blight ◽

Triticum Aestivum L ◽

Head Blight ◽

Soft Red Winter Wheat ◽

Moderately Resistant ◽

Red Winter Wheat

Tamburic-Ilincic, L. and Smid, A. 2015. Marker soft red winter wheat. Can. J. Plant Sci. 95: 1029–1031. Marker is a soft red winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivar registered for Ontario, Canada. It has high grain yield, with good pastry quality and is moderately resistant to Fusarium head blight. Marker is well adapted to the winter wheat growing areas of Ontario.

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Improvement of Resistance of Wheat Cultivars to Fusarium Head Blight in the Yellow-Huai Rivers Valley Winter Wheat Zone with Functional Marker Selection of Fhb1 Gene

ACTA AGRONOMICA SINICA ◽

10.3724/sp.j.1006.2018.00505 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 44 (4) ◽

pp. 505 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Hong-Jun ZHANG ◽

Zhen-Qi SU ◽

Gui-Hua BAI ◽

Xu ZHANG ◽

Hong-Xiang MA ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Winter Wheat ◽

Fusarium Head Blight ◽

Functional Marker ◽

Wheat Cultivars ◽

Head Blight ◽

Marker Selection ◽

Selection Of

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Using UAV-Based Hyperspectral Imagery to Detect Winter Wheat Fusarium Head Blight

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs13153024 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (15) ◽

pp. 3024

Author(s):

Huiqin Ma ◽

Wenjiang Huang ◽

Yingying Dong ◽

Linyi Liu ◽

Anting Guo

Keyword(s):

Winter Wheat ◽

Fusarium Head Blight ◽

Hyperspectral Imagery ◽

Spectral Feature ◽

Support Vector ◽

Detection Accuracy ◽

Feature Combination ◽

Field Scale ◽

Head Blight ◽

Detection Model

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a major winter wheat disease in China. The accurate and timely detection of wheat FHB is vital to scientific field management. By combining three types of spectral features, namely, spectral bands (SBs), vegetation indices (VIs), and wavelet features (WFs), in this study, we explore the potential of using hyperspectral imagery obtained from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), to detect wheat FHB. First, during the wheat filling period, two UAV-based hyperspectral images were acquired. SBs, VIs, and WFs that were sensitive to wheat FHB were extracted and optimized from the two images. Subsequently, a field-scale wheat FHB detection model was formulated, based on the optimal spectral feature combination of SBs, VIs, and WFs (SBs + VIs + WFs), using a support vector machine. Two commonly used data normalization algorithms were utilized before the construction of the model. The single WFs, and the spectral feature combination of optimal SBs and VIs (SBs + VIs), were respectively used to formulate models for comparison and testing. The results showed that the detection model based on the normalized SBs + VIs + WFs, using min–max normalization algorithm, achieved the highest R2 of 0.88 and the lowest RMSE of 2.68% among the three models. Our results suggest that UAV-based hyperspectral imaging technology is promising for the field-scale detection of wheat FHB. Combining traditional SBs and VIs with WFs can improve the detection accuracy of wheat FHB effectively.

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Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Triazole-Based Fungicides on Wheat Yield and Test Weight as Influenced by Fusarium Head Blight Intensity

Phytopathology ◽

10.1094/phyto-100-2-0160 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 100 (2) ◽

pp. 160-171 ◽

Cited By ~ 69

Author(s):

P. A. Paul ◽

M. P. McMullen ◽

D. E. Hershman ◽

L. V. Madden

Keyword(s):

Winter Wheat ◽

Fusarium Head Blight ◽

Wheat Yield ◽

Test Weight ◽

Response To Treatment ◽

Yield Response ◽

Head Blight ◽

Yield Increase ◽

Soft Red Winter Wheat ◽

Red Winter Wheat

Multivariate random-effects meta-analyses were conducted on 12 years of data from 14 U.S. states to determine the mean yield and test-weight responses of wheat to treatment with propiconazole, prothioconazole, tebuconazole, metconazole, and prothioconazole+tebuconazole. All fungicides led to a significant increase in mean yield and test weight relative to the check (D; P < 0.001). Metconazole resulted in the highest overall yield increase, with a D of 450 kg/ha, followed by prothioconazole+tebuconazole (444.5 kg/ha), prothioconazole (419.1 kg/ha), tebuconazole (272.6 kg/ha), and propiconazole (199.6 kg/ha). Metconazole, prothioconazole+tebuconazole, and prothioconazole also resulted in the highest increases in test weight, with D values of 17.4 to 19.4 kg/m3, respectively. On a relative scale, the best three fungicides resulted in an overall 13.8 to 15.0% increase in yield but only a 2.5 to 2.8% increase in test weight. Except for prothioconazole+tebuconazole, wheat type significantly affected the yield response to treatment; depending on the fungicide, D was 110.0 to 163.7 kg/ha higher in spring than in soft-red winter wheat. Fusarium head blight (FHB) disease index (field or plot-level severity) in the untreated check plots, a measure of the risk of disease development in a study, had a significant effect on the yield response to treatment, in that D increased with increasing FHB index. The probability was estimated that fungicide treatment in a randomly selected study will result in a positive yield increase (p+) and increases of at least 250 and 500 kg/ha (p250 and p500, respectively). For the three most effective fungicide treatments (metconazole, prothioconazole+tebuconazole, and prothioconazole) at the higher selected FHB index, p+ was very large (e.g., ≥0.99 for both wheat types) but p500 was considerably lower (e.g., 0.78 to 0.92 for spring and 0.54 to 0.68 for soft-red winter wheat); at the lower FHB index, p500 for the same three fungicides was 0.34 to 0.36 for spring and only 0.09 to 0.23 for soft-red winter wheat.

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Near-infrared versus visual sorting of Fusarium-damaged kernels in winter wheat

Canadian Journal of Plant Science ◽

10.4141/cjps08053 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 88 (6) ◽

pp. 1087-1089 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Stephen N Wegulo ◽

Floyd E Dowell

Keyword(s):

Quality Assurance ◽

Winter Wheat ◽

Fusarium Head Blight ◽

Key Words ◽

Fusarium Graminearum ◽

Near Infrared ◽

Strongly Correlated ◽

Head Blight ◽

Rater Reliability ◽

Key Words Wheat

Fusarium head blight (scab) of wheat, caused by Fusarium graminearum, often results in shriveled and/or discolored kernels, which are referred to as Fusarium-damaged kernels (FDK). FDK is a major grain grading factor and therefore is routinely determined for purposes of quality assurance. Measurement of FDK is usually done visually. Visual sorting can be laborious and is subject to inconsistencies resulting from variability in intra-rater repeatability and/or inter-rater reliability. The ability of a single-kernel near-infrared (SKNIR) system to detect FDK was evaluated by comparing FDK sorted by the system to FDK sorted visually. Visual sorting was strongly correlated with sorting by the SKNIR system (0.89 ≤ r ≤ 0.91); however, the SKNIR system had a wider range of FDK detection and was more consistent. Compared with the SKNIR system, visual raters overestimated FDK in samples with a low percentage of Fusarium-damaged grain and underestimated FDK in samples with a high percentage of Fusarium-damaged grain. Key words: Wheat, Fusarium head blight, Fusarium-damaged kernels, single-kernel near-infrared

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The impact of cultivar resistance and fungicide treatment on mycotoxin content in grain and yield losses caused by Fusarium head blight in wheat

Czech Journal of Genetics and Plant Breeding ◽

10.17221/93/2009-cjgpb ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 46 (No. 1) ◽

pp. 21-26 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

V. Šíp ◽

J. Chrpová ◽

O. Veškrna ◽

L. Bobková

Keyword(s):

Grain Yield ◽

Fusarium Head Blight ◽

Field Experiments ◽

Yield Loss ◽

Joint Effect ◽

Yield Losses ◽

Cultivar Resistance ◽

Head Blight ◽

Fungicide Treatment ◽

The Impact

Reactions to artificial infection with Fusarium graminearum isolates and a new fungicide Swing Top were studied in nine winter wheat cultivars evaluated in field experiments at two sites for three years for expression of symptoms, deoxynivalenol (DON) content in grain and grain yield. The results demonstrate a pronounced and relatively stable effect of cultivar resistance on reducing head blight, grain yield losses and contamination of grain by the mycotoxin DON. It is advantageous that the moderate level of resistance to Fusarium head blight (FHB) was detected also in two commonly grown Czech cultivars Sakura and Simila. Average fungicide efficacy for DON was 49.5% and 63.9% for a reduction in yield loss, however, it was found highly variable in different years and sites. The joint effect of cultivar resistance and fungicide treatment was 86.5% for DON and even 95.4% for reducing the yield loss. A very high risk was documented for susceptible cultivars and also the effects of medium responsive cultivars were found to be highly variable in different environments and therefore not guaranteeing sufficient protection against FHB under different conditions.

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