Prevalence of <i>Fusarium</i> fungi and Deoxynivalenol Levels in Winter Wheat Grain in Different Climatic Regions of Poland
Adam Okorski,
Alina Milewska,
Agnieszka Pszczółkowska,
Krzysztof Karpiesiuk,
Wojciech Kozera,
Joanna Agnieszka Dąbrowska,
Justyna Radwińska
Affiliations
Adam Okorski
Department of Entomology, Phytopathology and Molecular Diagnostics, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Plac Łódzki 5, 10-727 Olsztyn, Poland
Alina Milewska
Department of Entomology, Phytopathology and Molecular Diagnostics, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Plac Łódzki 5, 10-727 Olsztyn, Poland
Agnieszka Pszczółkowska
Department of Entomology, Phytopathology and Molecular Diagnostics, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Plac Łódzki 5, 10-727 Olsztyn, Poland
Krzysztof Karpiesiuk
Department of Pig Breeding, Faculty of Animal Bioengineering, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Oczapowskiego 5, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland
Wojciech Kozera
Department of Pig Breeding, Faculty of Animal Bioengineering, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Oczapowskiego 5, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland
Joanna Agnieszka Dąbrowska
Department of Entomology, Phytopathology and Molecular Diagnostics, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Plac Łódzki 5, 10-727 Olsztyn, Poland
Justyna Radwińska
Department of Internal Diseases with Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Oczapowskiego 14, 10-718 Olsztyn, Poland
Fusarium head blight (FHB) caused by fungi of the genus Fusarium is one of the most dangerous crop diseases, which has a wide geographic distribution and causes severe economic losses in the production of major cereal species. The infection leads to the accumulation of mycotoxins in grains, which compromises its suitability for human and animal consumption. The study demonstrated that grain samples from warmer regions of Poland, including Sulejów and Tomaszów Bolesławicki (results differed across years of the study), were colonized mainly by F. graminearum and were most highly contaminated with deoxynivalenol (DON). Samples from Northeastern Poland, i.e., Ruska Wieś, which is located in a cooler region, were characterized by a predominance of Fusarium species typical of the cold climate, i.e., Fusarium poae and Penicillium verrucosum. A Spearman’s rank correlation analysis revealed that the severity of grain infection with F. avenaceum/F. tricinctum was affected by the mean daily temperature and high humidity in May, and the corresponding values of the correlation coefficient were determined at R = 0.54 and R = 0.50. Competitive interactions were observed between the F. avenaceum/F. tricinctum genotype and DON-producing F. culmorum and F. graminearum, because the severity of grain infections caused by these pathogens was bound by a negative correlation.
