Climate, Soil Management, and Cultivar Affect Fusarium Head Blight Incidence and Deoxynivalenol Accumulation in Durum Wheat of Southern Italy.

Valeria Scala,Guido Incerti,Gabriella Aureli,Felice Scala,Massimo Reverberi,Corrado Fanelli,Giuliano Bonanomi,Gaspare Cesarano

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2016.01014

Abstract

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a multifaceted disease caused by some species of Fusarium spp. A huge production of mycotoxins, mostly trichothecenes, often accompanied this disease. Amongst these toxic compounds, deoxynivalenol (DON) and its derivatives represent a major issue for human as well as for animal health and farming. Common and durum wheat are amongst the hosts of trichothecene-producing Fusaria. Differences in susceptibility to fungal infection and toxin accumulation occur in wheat cultivars. Recently, increasing incidence and severity of Fusarium infection and a higher DON accumulation in durum wheat were observed in Italy, especially in Northern regions. In this study, we analyzed wheat yield, technological parameters, the incidence of Fusarium infection and DON content in kernel samples of durum wheat coming from three locations of Southern Italy with different climatic conditions and grown during two seasons, with two methods of cultivation. Four different durum wheat cultivars prevalently cultivated in Southern Italian areas were chosen for this study. Our analysis showed the effects of environment and cultivar types on wheat productivity and key technological parameters for the quality level of the end-product, namely pasta. Notably, although a low rate of mycotoxin contamination in all study sites was assessed, an inverse relation emerged between fungal infection/DON production and durum wheat yield. Further, our study pinpoints the importance of environment conditions on several quality traits of durum wheat grown under Mediterranean climate. The environmental conditions at local level (microscale) and soil management practices may drive FHB outbreak and mycotoxin contamination even in growing area suitable for cropping this wheat species.

Highlights

Durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) is the most widespread crop in the Mediterranean area
Results of Generalized Linear Model (GLM) and post-hoc Duncan tests showed that crop yields were significantly affected by all experimental factors, with significant interactions of wheat cultivar with cultivation year and study site (Table 1; Table S2; Supplementary Datasheet 1)
Our study suggests that environmental conditions at local level and soil management practices are determinant factors in controlling potential Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) outbreak and mycotoxin contamination

Summary

Introduction

Durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) is the most widespread crop in the Mediterranean area. Quaranta et al (2010) confirmed the importance of environmental local conditions in driving mycotoxin contamination in durum wheat. They reported that Southern Italy is an area suitable for producing high quality durum wheat with a low content of Fusarium-toxins. Some species of Fusarium are the causal agents of the Fusarium Head Blight (FHB), a disease of great concern for wheat and for other cereal crops (Kelly et al, 2015). Especially during wheat anthesis, consistently affect composition of Fusarium species causing FHB (Bernhoft et al, 2012; Covarelli et al, 2015; Kelly et al, 2015). The impact of FHB can be limited by adopting measures for reducing the inoculum and preventing its dispersal such as the cultural, biological, and chemical control and use of resistant varieties (Sutton, 1982; Magan et al, 2002). Czaban et al (2015) suggested that winter wheat kernel infection by Fusarium spp. depends primarily by weather conditions and by the wheat genotype

Results

Discussion

Conclusion