Fusarium head blight in wheat

Forecasting and determinantion of mycotoxin formation

There are some activities related to the header topics. At the moment you find details on the FAEN project we are participating dealing with determinants of mycotoxin formation.

In Lower Saxony in recent years economical changes in agriculture tend to a narrowing of crop rotation and to an increasing wheat production which can lead to a critical accumulation of toxin producing pathogens especially Fusarium species.
In practical agriculture toxin production of these species can be regulated via usage of fungicides and resistant cultivars, these two factors have also influence on stress physiological status of wheat. The primary objective of this project is to find relations between these factors and the toxin producing activity of Fusarium graminearum. This interaction will be investigated via different crop rotation systems in combination with three different fungicide applications in field tests. Furthermore under greenhouse conditions more cultivars and fungicides will be evaluated and in addition to prior tests the impact of sub-lethal doses on toxin production will be examined. Thus, identified risk factors can be used for further development of toxin prediction model which is already in validation test.

Primary objectives:

• Detection and evaluation of interactions between biomass of fungi and toxin content of different Fusarium spp. in harvested products
• Study of interactions between different factors of field tests: Effect of preceding crop on cultivar resistance and fungicide treatment
• Stress physiological examinations in wheat under greenhouse conditions and use of measured oxidant and antioxidant parameters to identify potential risks which can be used in a toxin prediction model
• Study of influences of sub-lethal doses of fungicide agents and their impact of trichotecene production of different Fusarium spp.
• Check of assignability of data from greenhouse to field tests

Investigators: Marcel Tillmann (PhD-student), Ruben Gödecke (PhD-student)

Supervisor: Prof. Andreas von Tiedemann