Mycotoxins in wheat cultivated in the Netherlands: results from eight years of field surveys

H.J Van Der Fels-Klerx,Cheng Liu,Marlous Focker,Theo De Rijk

doi:10.1007/s12550-021-00427-x

Abstract

In the period 2009–2018, an annual field survey with commercial arable farms in the Netherlands was held, to collect data on agronomics of wheat fields as well as mycotoxin concentrations of the specific wheat field at harvest. In total, 293 full farm field records over 8 years were obtained. This study aimed to investigate (i) the occurrence of deoxynivalenol (DON) and other mycotoxins, as well as correlations between these mycotoxins, and (ii) the relationships between agronomics and the DON concentration in wheat kernels for wheat cultivated in the Netherlands. Results showed that mycotoxins most frequently observed in concentrations above the limit of quantification were DON, enniatin B and B1, HT-2 toxin, zearalenone (ZEN) and nivalenol. On average, DON was detected in 54% of the samples (> 50 µg/kg) ranging from 19 to 92% depending on the year. Positive samples (> 50 µg/kg) had DON concentrations ranging 53–15,400 µg/kg, with a median of 228 µg/kg. Co-occurrence between DON and ZEN as well as between each of DON and ZEN with their modified forms was confirmed by the data of this study. The year influenced the DON concentration in wheat the most, followed by the region. The results of this study show that DON levels in wheat can only be influenced in a limited manner by agronomic practices such as the use of fungicides against Fusarium spp. around flowering, crop rotation, or the use of resistant wheat cultivars.

Highlights

In 2018, common wheat and spelt represented 44% of all cereal grains harvested in Europe with a total production of 129 million tonnes (Eurostat 2019)
The farmers were invited to answer questions about their farm location by providing their geographical coordinates, and about the agronomics of one particular wheat field, chosen by the farmer, including the winter wheat cultivar, the resistance score of this cultivar against Fusarium ssp., the previous crop cultivated on the field, soil type, soil cultivation and fungicides applications against Fusarium head blight (FHB) around flowering
Other mycotoxins that were detected to be present above the highest level of quantification (LOQ) were DON-3-G, 15and 3-AcDON, α-zearalenol and β-zearalenol, alternariol, beauvericin, enniatin A1, moniliformin, nitropropionic acid and sterigmatocystin (Table 1)

Summary

Introduction

In 2018, common wheat and spelt represented 44% of all cereal grains harvested in Europe with a total production of 129 million tonnes (Eurostat 2019). Wheat is used for human and animal consumption, as well as for the production of other products (e.g. starch and bioethanol). In order to maintain a high wheat yield, disease prevention is crucial. One of the common diseases in wheat in Europe is Fusarium spp. infection, leading to Fusarium head blight (FHB) followed by the production of mycotoxins, of which deoxynivalenol (DON) is the most prominent one (Osborne and Stein 2007). F. graminearum and F. culmorum are the most common fungi species that cause FHB and produce DON in Europe (Pasquali et al 2016).

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Conclusion