Abstract
Fusarium species are common pathogens on maize and reduce the product quality through contamination with mycotoxins thus jeopardizing safety of both animal feed and human food products. Monitoring of Fusarium infected maize ears and stalks was conducted in Germany to determine the range of Fusarium species present in the field and to assess the impact of tillage, crop rotation, and weather conditions on the frequency of Fusarium species. From 2016 till 2018, a total of 387 infected ears and 190 stalk segments from 58 locations in Germany were collected. For each sample location, site-specific agronomic data on tillage and previous crops as well as meteorological data on precipitation, air temperature, and relative humidity during the vegetation period were recorded. The most frequent Fusarium species detected in maize ears were Fusarium graminearum, F. verticillioides and F. temperatum, whereas, F. graminearum, F. equiseti, F. culmorum, and F. temperatum were the species prevailing on maize stalks. Differences in the local species composition were found to be primarily associated with weather variations between the years and the microclimate at the different locations. The results indicate that mean temperature and precipitation in July, during flowering, has the strongest impact on the local range of Fusarium spp. on ears, whereas the incidence of Fusarium species on stalks is mostly affected by weather conditions during September. Ploughing significantly reduced the infection with F. graminearum and F. temperatum, while crop rotation exerted only minor effects.
Highlights
Fusarium spp. in maize occur worldwide and can cause various diseases in different growth stages of maize, such as root and seedling rot as well as stalk and ear rot [1]
The dominant Fusarium species causing ear and stalk rot in temperate climate zones are Fusarium graminearum, F. verticillioides, and F. subglutinans, producing numerous, chemically diverse mycotoxins, among which the most important are deoxynivalenol, zearalenon, and fumonisin [6,7]
In 2016, F. verticillioides and F. proliferatum as well as F. temperatum and F. subglutinans were treated as a species complex of F. proliferatum sp. and F
Summary
Fusarium spp. in maize occur worldwide and can cause various diseases in different growth stages of maize, such as root and seedling rot as well as stalk and ear rot [1]. Several toxigenic Fusarium species are known to cause yield losses, reduction of grain quality, endangering the safety of both animal feed and human food products [4,5]. The dominant Fusarium species causing ear and stalk rot in temperate climate zones are Fusarium graminearum, F. verticillioides, and F. subglutinans, producing numerous, chemically diverse mycotoxins, among which the most important are deoxynivalenol, zearalenon, and fumonisin [6,7]. Several routes are known by which the fungus may enter the kernels and the stalk including wounds by insects [14,15], silk infection and systemic spread after root penetration [1,16]. The major infection pathway for the infection of maize ears by Pathogens 2020, 9, 236; doi:10.3390/pathogens9030236 www.mdpi.com/journal/pathogens
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