Seedling blight, mostly caused by Fusarium spp. and Bipolaris sorokiniana, is a common disease in spring cereals. This research confirmed the presence of Microdochium fungi in a complex of seedling blight causative agents. Pathogens Microdochium nivale and M. majus in the seed and in stem base of seedlings of spring barley, spring wheat, spring triticale and spring oats were identified and quantified using a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) in 2013-2015. Both species were detected in the seed of all spring cereals tested. The amount of M. nivale and M. majus DNA was the highest in seeds of barley. Both Microdochium pathogens were present in the stem base of seedlings of all spring cereals tested; however, a high variation between cereal species and years was established. In most cases, the quantity of M. nivale DNA was the lowest in the seedlings of oats, while that of M. majus -in the seedlings of barley compared to the other cereal species tested. Higher contents of M. majus and M. nivale DNA were identified in the stem base of the seedlings emerged from untreated seeds compared with the seedlings emerged from the fludioxonil-treated seeds. However, the effect of tebuconazole on the reduction of M. nivale and M. majus DNA was inconsistent. Our findings suggest that M. nivale and M. majus occur in the seed of spring cereals and cause seedling blight, therefore research on these pathogens needs to be extended.
Fusarium head blight (FHB) is one of the most important cereal diseases causing yield losses and reducing its quality. B type trichothecenes (TRI) deoxynivalenol (DON) and nivalenol (NIV) are the main mycotoxins associated with FHB of wheat and other small-grain cereals. Usually, a particular Fusarium strain is able to produce only one type of B trichothecene. The detection of gene for NIV, DON and its acetylated derivatives 3-acetyldeoxynivalenol (3ADON) or 15-acetyldeoxynivalenol (15ADON) production is used for detection of FHB pathogens in plant material and their chemotyping. The current study presents the distribution of DON and NIV mycotoxins and their potential producers in Lithuanian wheat grain grown in 2013 and 2014. Grain samples of spring wheat (114) and winter wheat (30) were collected from 49 farms situated in 12 administrative districts of Lithuania. Fusarium species were identified and quantified by the morphological and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) techniques. DON concentrations were estimated by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in all collected grain samples and NIV using ultra performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (UPLC/MS) in 17 arbitrarily selected samples. F. graminearum, F. culmorum and F. poae were identified as species capable of producing mycotoxins DON and NIV in wheat grain. The highest DON quantities were identified in the grain of spring wheat grown in 2013 and this was clearly linked to F. graminearum DNA quantities (r = 0.783, p < 0.01). F. poae stood out as a potential NIV producer in the grain of Lithuania-grown wheat, since a positive correlation (r = 0.62, p < 0.01) between the quantities of F. poae DNA and NIV concentrations was established. F. culmorum was detected in unexpectedly small quantities in wheat grain and was found to be the potential producer of DON, but not NIV.
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