Impact of fusarium head blight epidemics on the mycotoxins’ accumulation in winter wheat grains

Abstract

Fusarium graminearum (Fusarium Head Blight - FHB) is a dangerous pathogen of the cereals producing mycotoxins harmful for humanand animal health. The quality of the wheat grains is severely affected in the years with FHB epidemics due to the high mycotoxins levelthat can overpass maximum allowable concentrations, with implications for food safety. The purpose of the work was to investigatesome variables involved in the contamination of the wheat grains with several harmful mycotoxins (DON, ZON and T-2) in conditions ofFHB natural infection in an epidemic year. The main finding of the results highlighted that the low ears densities of wheat crop canopydeterminate high FHB attack frequency, too. Climate conditions from May 2019 were very favourable for the evolution of FHB epidemicsin western Romania. This fact was confirmed by the experimental results of FHB attack, and later by the concentrations of mycotoxins(DON) over the maximum allowable concentrations from the wheat grains at the harvesting moment. The overpass of DON concentrationwas found in 15 from the total 16 wheat varieties from the experiment. Positive significant correlations were found between DON andT-2 and between DON and fungus attack intensity. According with the results, in FHB epidemic year some of the most influential factorsin the contamination of the wheat grains with DON, ZON and T-2 in the order of their importance are: ears density, frequency of theattack on ear, number of diseased ears and attack intensity on ears