Deoxynivalenol content in wheat kernels showing various levels of damage caused by Fusarium culmorum

Abstract

The content of Fusarium toxin deoxynivalenol (DON) was investigated in the grain of four winter wheat cultivars that differ in susceptibility to Fusarium head blight. Wheat heads were inoculated with Fusarium culmorum spores. The degree of damage to the kernels by Fusarium was assessed, and then the grain samples were divided into the following fractions: healthy kernels, healthy shriveled kernels, normal-sized discoloured kernels (white), and shriveled discoloured kernels (white, red). The highest content of DON was found in the fraction of discoloured, shriveled kernels, i.e. the most severely damaged by Fusarium. The DON content was 16 to 47 times higher than in the healthy kernel fraction, depending on the cultivar. This fraction contained from 54 to 91% of the DON contained in the total grain sample. A significant content of DON was also found in discoloured normal-sized kernels, the weight of which was similar to that of healthy kernels. The fraction of healthy kernels was divided into two parts based on fluorescence under ultraviolet (UV) light. Kernels exhibiting fluorescence had three times higher DON content.