Abstract
Fusarium head blight (FHB) and its mycotoxin contamination are among the main factors affecting wheat yield and quality. There is an urgent need to develop an efficient strategy to prevent and control the FHB disease and reduce the mycotoxin level in the wheat product. As a triazolinthione fungicide, prothioconazole is an effective broad-spectrum fungicide to control various diseases of wheat by foliar spraying. However, prothioconazole has potential harm to the female reproductive system, and its metabolism prothioconazole-desthio has teratogenicity. Considering this point, the plant protection unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are undoubtedly a suitable choice for the field application of prothioconazole. In this work, by spraying 30% prothioconazole dispersible oil suspensions, we report that aviation spray adjuvant of methylated vegetable oil influences the control effect of wheat head blight, wheat yield, prothioconazole residues, and mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON) content. Adding 1.0% aviation spray adjuvant to the spray solution can significantly increase the droplet density and deposition amount in different layers of wheat canopy. The wheat yield increased by 6.94% compared with the treatment areas without spray adjuvant. Meanwhile, the prothioconazole and DON mycotoxin were not detected in the wheat grains. Based on these results, we conclude that the addition of aviation spray adjuvant can also not only ensure the high control effect of prothioconazole on FHB in wheat and increase wheat yield, but also greatly reduce the content of DON mycotoxin and ensure the safety of wheat production. This study is expected to provide theoretical guidance and data support for applying spray adjuvants in the field of plant protection UAVs in modern intensive sustainable agriculture.
Highlights
Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is one of the most important staple food crops globally [1], which greatly contributes to the food security
The present experiments were performed to verify a research hypothesis that the mycotoxin contamination in wheat could be reduced while improving the control of Fusarium head blight (FHB) when aviation spray adjuvant was used
Xiao et al found that adding aviation spray adjuvant vegetable oil could significantly improve the defoliant droplet deposition on cotton leaves [20]
Summary
Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is one of the most important staple food crops globally [1], which greatly contributes to the food security. Fusarium head blight (FHB) is an important cereal disease that seriously threatens the safety of cereal production worldwide, resulting in reduced yields and a deterioration of grain quality because of the contamination by harmful mycotoxins [2,3]. FHB is the most important and devastative fungal disease affecting wheat cultivation [4]. In addition to the yield loss, Fusarium can produce potent mycotoxins, such as deoxynivalenol (DON), which has a significant impact on the immune function of humans and animals [6]. The threshold for DON in wheat grain destined for human consumption is set at 1.00 mg kg−1 by the Chinese government [7]. It is highly desirable to develop an efficient strategy to prevent and control the FHB disease and reduce the DON level in wheat products
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