Effect of fungicides on spike characteristics in winter wheat inoculated with Fusarium culmorum

Abstract

The impact of fungicides on the head blight (FHB) development disease index, percent spike harvest index (SHI), and deoxynivalenol (DON) accumulation in wheat kernels under field conditions was evaluated after artificial spike inoculation with Fusarium culmorum (S-14). The trial was carried out using commercially available fungicides and a sensitive cultivar of bread wheat (Flamura-85) in a field of a wheat producer located in the Trakya region of Turkey. Fungicides were applied at the beginning of anthesis (ZGS 61), 48 hours after the inoculation with the pathogen. Disease index was determined 10 days and 14 days post-inoculation. The application of fungicides containing tebuconazole, thiophanate methyl plus tetraconazole and prothioconazole plus trifloxystrobin reduced the FHB disease and increased kernel number, spike weight, and kernel weight, as compared to the inoculated/non-fungicide control. The efficacy of tebuconazole and of prothioconazole plus trifloxystrobin was higher than that of thiophanate methyl plus tetraconazole on FHB disease severity, percent spike harvest index (SHI), and DON accumulation in wheat kernels.

Keywords:

• F. culmorum
• DON
• thiophanate methyl;prothioconazole
• trifloxystrobin

Acknowledgments

The author thanks Prof. Dr. Tuncay Gümüş from the Food Engineering of Agricultural Faculty of Tekirdağ Namık Kemal University for his contribution in the DON analysis, as well as Özgür Uzel (Wheat Grower) and Füsun Sukut for their contribution in the field experiments.

Disclosure statement

The author declares no conflict of interest.