Fusarium and mycotoxin spectra in Swiss barley are affected by various cropping techniques

Abstract

Fusarium head blight is one of the most important cereal diseases worldwide. Cereals differ in terms of the main occurring Fusarium species and the infection is influenced by various factors, such as weather and cropping measures. Little is known about Fusarium species in barley in Switzerland, hence harvest samples from growers were collected in 2013 and 2014, along with information on respective cropping factors. The incidence of different Fusarium species was obtained by using a seed health test and mycotoxins were quantified by LC-MS/MS. With these techniques, the most dominant species, F. graminearum, and the most prominent mycotoxin, deoxynivalenol (DON), were identified. Between the three main Swiss cropping systems, Organic, Extenso and Proof of ecological performance, we observed differences with the lowest incidence and toxin accumulation in organically cultivated barley. Hence, we hypothesise that this finding was based on an array of growing techniques within a given cropping system. We observed that barley samples from fields with maize as previous crop had a substantially higher F. graminearum incidence and elevated DON accumulation compared with other previous crops. Furthermore, the use of reduced tillage led to a higher disease incidence and toxin content compared with samples from ploughed fields. Further factors increasing Fusarium infection were high nitrogen fertilisation as well as the application of fungicides and growth regulators. Results from the current study can be used to develop optimised cropping systems that reduce the risks of mycotoxin contamination.

Influence of temperature, humidity duration and growth stage on the infection and mycotoxin production by Fusarium langsethiae and Fusarium poae in oats

“…Mycotoxins were extracted according to Schöneberg et al . () with the following modifications. Five grams of milled sample were weighed into a 50 mL glass bottle and extracted with 20 mL solvent mixture (acetonitrile:acetone:milli‐Q water; 50:25:25).…”

“…Fusarium head blight (FHB) is caused by different Fusarium species and has been extensively studied in wheat (Triticum aestivum) and barley (Hordeum vulgare) (e.g. Osborne & Stein, 2007;Sch€ oneberg et al, 2016). Infections lead to yield reductions and contamination with mycotoxins, which threaten human and animal health (Desjardins, 2006).…”

Resistance against Fusarium graminearum and the relationship to β-glucan content in barley grains

“…FHB infections can cause significant economic losses along the entire value chain (McMullen et al 1997). In temperate climates, Fusarium graminearum (FG) is a common pathogen of barley (Ioos et al 2004;Nielsen et al 2014) and the dominant species in barley, in Switzerland (Schöneberg et al 2016). FHB development starts after primary infection when spores released from crop residues, transported by wind and rain, are deposited on florets (Bai and Shaner 2004).…”

Infection conditions of Fusarium graminearum in barley are variety specific and different from those in wheat

“…In Switzerland, F. graminearum (FG) is the most occurring species in barley and wheat (Schöneberg et al 2016;Vogelgsang et al 2011) and the typical symptoms are discoloured and shrivelled grains (Parry et al 1995). Apart from reduced grain quality and yield, FG produces mycotoxins such as deoxynivalenol (DON) (Bottalico and Perrone 2002;Osborne and Stein 2007).…”

“…Knowledge about the most influencing cultivation measures such as crop rotation, choice of the variety and tillage is important to reduce the risk of a FG infection in barley and was assessed during the recent years (Schöneberg et al 2016). In addition, data about the most susceptible growth stages and favourable climatic conditions, which were shown to affect the infection with FG, are necessary to predict the occurrence in a particular field (Cowger et al 2009;Brustolin et al 2013).…”