Fungicides may have differential efficacies towards the main causal agents of Fusarium head blight of wheat

BACKGROUND: Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a complex disease of wheat and barley caused by several Fusarium species. In recent years, a variation in the composition of the FHB community has been observed in several wheat cultivation areas across the world. In detail, F. avenaceum and F. poae increased their frequencies, while, a lower F. graminearum and F. culmorum incidence was simultaneously observed. These shifts within the FHB complex might have been caused by different factors, including the selective pressure caused by fungicides used to control the disease in the field. Therefore, the present study was carried out to evaluate, both in in vitro experiments and in field trials, the activity of commonly used fungicides of wheat (tebuconazole, metconazole, prothioconazole and prochloraz) towards the above mentioned four Fusarium species. RESULTS: A preliminary in vitro assay revealed that low concentrations of all tested fungicides caused the incomplete reduction of fungal development. Furthermore, F. poae and F. avenaceum showed, at the same time, a lower sensitivity to all tested fungicides. In field trials, all fungicides showed an activity against the four Fusarium species. However, F. avenaceum exhibited a reduced sensitivity to metconazole. The lower efficacy of metconazole towards F. avenaceum was also confirmed by an additional in vitro experiment on several F. avenaceum and F. graminearum different strains. CONCLUSION: The selective pressure exerted by the extensive use of certain fungicides may influence population dynamics of Fusarium species due to their different sensitivity. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.