Effect of Climate on the Distribution of Fusarium spp. Causing Crown Rot of Wheat in the Pacific Northwest of the United States

Abstract

Fusarium crown rot (FCR) is one of the most widespread root and crown diseases of wheat in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) of the United States. Our objectives were to characterize crown rot severity and distribution throughout the PNW by conducting a survey of 210 fields covering the diverse dryland wheat-producing areas of Washington and Oregon and to utilize a factor analysis statistical approach to determine the effects of climate and geography on species distribution and disease severity. Climatic variables were based on 30-year averages and 2008 and 2009 separately (the 2 years of the survey). Mean annual temperature, mean temperature in the coldest month, mean temperature in the warmest month, mean annual precipitation, snowfall, elevation, soil type, and cropping intensity were highly intercorrelated. The factor analysis of the climate variables resulted in the development of two latent factors that could be used as predictor variables in logistic regression models for the presence or absence of Fusarium spp. and of FCR disease scores. Isolates of Fusarium spp. were recovered from 99% of 105 fields sampled in 2008 and 97% of fields in 2009. There were differences between years for responses of FCR and nodes scores, and isolations of Fusarium pseudograminearum with more significant results in 2008, due to warmer drier weather. Results of the factor analysis showed that the distribution of F. pseudograminearum occurred in a greater frequency in areas of the PNW at lower elevations with lower moisture and higher temperatures in 2008, whereas F. culmorum occurred in greater frequency in areas at higher elevations with moderate to high moisture and cooler temperatures consistently across both years. Disease scores increased with increasing levels of factors 1 (primarily temperature) and 2 (primarily precipitation). Both the frequency of pathogen species and disease scores were influenced by the year, indicating that soilborne pathogens are responsive to short-term changes in environment. This factor analysis approach can be utilized in studies to determine the effects of climate and other environmental (soil, cropping system, and so on) factors on the distribution and severity of root diseases.

Variability of Stem-Base Infestation and Coexistence of Fusarium spp. Causing Crown Rot of Winter Wheat in Serbia

“…F. pseudograminearum was reported as dominant species in the arid zones of the Pacific Northwest and Australia (Poole et al, 2013). On the other hand, F. culmorum was predominant in the cooler, higher altitude and high rainfall areas (Smiley et al, 2005).…”

Original Article. Geographic distribution of Fusarium culmorum chemotypes associated with wheat crown rot in Iraq

“…Dominance of F. culmorum over other species in a particular area is thought to be infl uenced by climatic conditions, such as temperature (Poole et al 2013;Backhouse 2014) and precipitation (Backhouse et al 2004). Studies from the Middle East have shown that F. culmorum is common in this region (Motallebi et al 2015), although many other FCR causing species have been detected there as well (e.g., Seif El-Nasr and Leath 1983;Saremi et al 2007;Hajieghrari 2009).…”

“…Th ese species appear to exhibit some geographic preferences, for example, with F. pseudograminearum being a dominant Fusarium crown rot (FCR) disease pathogen in Australia and F. graminearum being more common across the northern United States (Summerell et al 2010). Fusarium culmorum is another important FCR disease causing species (Backhouse and Burgess 2002;Moya-Elizondo et al 2011) that is commonly isolated within particular regions, such as the Middle East (Motallebi et al 2015) or in specifi c areas within a region, such as higher elevations of the Pacifi c Northwest and United State (Poole et al 2013). Distinct biogeographic patterns have also been observed among other Fusarium taxa,For F. culmorum, chemotypes have been recognized within the type B trichothecene mycotoxins, which are common contaminants of cereals (Pasquali et al 2016).…”

Plant-Derived Natural Products From the American Continent for the Control of Phytopathogenic Fungi: A Review

“…Richard et al, 2003;Sampietro et al, 2011;Poole et al, 2013;Tittlemier et al, 2013a;Umpierrez-Failache et al, 2013;Malbrán et al, 2014 Penicillium expansum and P. herquei.…”