Microdochium nivale and M. majus as causative agents of seedling blight in spring cereals

Abstract

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.

What influences the composition of fungi in wheat grains?

“…It has been reported that these fungi have occurred in >90% of grain samples in Denmark over the years [23]. Previously, only M. nivale was recognized as a wheat pathogen, but the latest findings have also revealed the pathogenicity of M. majus [24]. The occurrence of both fungi was also high in our investigation, reaching on average 40% in the 5 years.…”

Yield Losses and Control by Sedaxane and Fludioxonil of Soilborne Rhizoctonia, Microdochium, and Fusarium Species in Winter Wheat

“…Fludioxonil (Glynn et al 2007;Glynn et al 2008) and sedaxane (Zeun et al 2013) have been previously shown to effectively control Microdochium spp. in vitro and in field (Jonavičienė et al 2016). Furthermore, in this study, sedaxane as part of a mixture with fludioxonil, under high disease pressure significantly increased plant counts at GS 39 by 29% compared to the untreated.…”

Evidence of Microdochium Fungi Associated with Cereal Grains in Russia

“…Information about the diseases, such as pink snow mold, grass decay, leaf spots, and head blight, caused by Microdochium fungi has been published previously [2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. Microdochium fungi were first identified in 1849 by Fries as Lanosa nivalis, which was later (1886) reclassified and placed in the genus Fusarium as F. nivale Ces.…”