TIMELY FUNGICIDE APPLICATION: A STRATEGY TO MINIMIZE FUSARIUM HEAD BLIGHT AND ASSOCIATED MYCOTOXIN PRODUCTION IN WINTER WHEAT

Re-emergence of Fusarium head blight (FHB) on wheat should be taken into account in the global man-agement of cropped fields, especially with respect to fungicide application schemes, due to harmful toxin production. The aim of this study was to assess, in three experimental fields representative of the various topoclimatological zones of Luxembourg, the impact of timing of fungicide spray application on the prevalence and severity of FHB, the concentration of mycotoxins, and Fusarium strain pattern in winter wheat. It was found that fungicide treatments and the time of applica-tion had a significant impact on the amount of deoxyni-valenol (DON) detected (P=0.027, ANOVA). In our ex-perimental design, the application of fungicides at 3 dif-ferent times increased the amount of DON in winter wheat compared to two and single applications. The im-portance of the timing of fungicide application is dis-cussed in relation to limiting toxin contamination in the field. Key words: Fusarium spp., deoxynivalenol, cereals, chemical treatment