Integrating Management Practices to Decrease Deoxynivalenol Contamination in Soft Red Winter Wheat

Abstract

Fusarium graminearum, the major causal agent of Fusarium head blight (FHB) of wheat (Triticum aestivum) in the U.S., can produce mycotoxins, such as deoxynivalenol (DON), during infection. Contamination of wheat grain with DON is a major concern for wheat producers and millers, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has set advisory levels for DON in finished wheat products for human and animal consumption. Practices utilized to manage FHB and DON contamination include planting wheat cultivars with moderate resistance to FHB and applying efficacious fungicides at the beginning of anthesis. Under severe epidemics, DON contamination can exceed FDA advisory levels despite implementation of these measures. Additionally, fungicide efficacy can be limited when anthesis is not uniform among plants in the field, which can occur when planting is delayed or if there is non-uniform seedling establishment. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effect of (1) in-furrow phosphorus application at planting and seeding rate on heading and anthesis uniformity, FHB symptomology, DON contamination, grain yield, yield components, and test weight; and (2) harvesting at different grain moisture concentrations on FHB symptomology, DON contamination, grain yield and test weight. Field trials were established in Princeton, Kentucky, from 2017 to 2019, to evaluate in-furrow phosphorus application at planting (0 kg P 2 O 5 ha-1 and 47 kg P 2 O 5 ha-1); seeding rate (377 live seeds m-2 and 603 live seeds m-2); and grain moisture at harvest (20 to 22% and 13 to 15%). In-furrow phosphorus increased grain yield and spikes m-2 , but had no effect on heading and anthesis uniformity or DON contamination. The 603 live seeds m-2 seeding rate decreased the number of days to Zadoks 60 for the November planted wheat, and decreased FHB incidence, but did not decrease DON contamination. Harvesting at 20 to 22% grain moisture decreased Fusarium damaged kernel ratings and percent kernel infection but increased DON contamination in the harvested grain. Although in-furrow phosphorus, seeding rate, and harvesting 20 to 22% grain moisture did not decrease DON contamination, there is potential for these treatments to alleviate negative effects of late planted wheat grown in stressful environments.

Agronomic strategies to mitigate yield loss of late‐planted wheat in Kentucky

“…Differences in grain yield between the two seeding rates were previously reported by Rod et al. (2020). Differences between the in‐furrow phosphorus treatment and the non‐treated control were determined using analyses of variance (SAS version 9.4; PROC MIXED; seeding rate was specified as fixed effects; site, year, and rep(year×site) were specified as random effects).…”

“…For the increased seeding rate, Rod et al. (2020) previously reported that grain yield increased an average of 4 bu acre −1 when seeding rates were increased to 56 plants ft −2 . The risk analysis found that yield increased by at least 1 bu acre −1 63% of the time and by at least 5 bu acre −1 42% of the time when seeding rate was increased from 35 plants ft −2 to 56 plants ft −2 for wheat planting that was delayed by at least 1 month (Figure 2).…”

Double‐crop soybean management practices for high yield and profitability

“…a Early and normal correspond to the planting timing. Early planting occurred after wheat was harvested at 20 to 22% grain moisture; normal planting timing occurred after wheat was harvested at 13 to 15% grain moisture (Rod et al, 2020).…”

“…Six management practices were examined at two planting timings (Table 2). The planting timings succeeded two soft red winter wheat harvest timings: 20 to 22% wheat grain moisture (early) and 13 to 15% wheat grain moisture (normal) (Rod, 2020;Rod et al, 2020). The six management treatments consisted of different combinations of seeding rates (150,000 or 225,000 seeds acre −1 ), seed treatments (treated or nontreated), and foliar pesticide (economic threshold or prophylactic R3 applications) (Table 2).…”

UAV-Based Thermal, RGB Imaging and Gene Expression Analysis Allowed Detection of Fusarium Head Blight and Gave New Insights Into the Physiological Responses to the Disease in Durum Wheat

“…Given the current global warming associated with increased temperatures, major epidemics of FHB are occurring. Thus, proper cultivation schemes and field management are essential to alleviate its threat ( Bai and Shaner, 2004 ; Vaughan et al, 2016 ; Ma et al, 2020 ; Rod et al, 2020 ).…”